Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Notice of Public HearingSTATE OF ALASKAALASKA OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION RE: Docket Numbers: AEO-26-001 and DIO-26-001Great[...]

Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission

Notice of Public Hearing
STATE OF ALASKA
ALASKA OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION

RE: Docket Numbers: AEO-26-001 and DIO-26-001

Great Bear Pantheon Application for Aquifer Exemption and Application for Disposal Injection Order, Megrez 1 well, North Slope Borough, Alaska

Great Bear Pantheon (Great Bear), by application dated July 2, 2026, requests the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC) issue an order to approve an Aquifer Exemption for the Sagavanirktok formation and Class II Underground Injection Control Disposal Injection Order for an existing well Megrez 1 on the North Slope of Alaska.

An aquifer is an underground body of water-saturated rock or sediments that can store and/or transmit water. Regulations allow the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the State of Alaska to exempt an aquifer or a portion of an aquifer if it does not currently serve as a source of drinking water, if it will not serve as a source of drinking water in the future, or if it meets other criteria such as the natural presence of hydrocarbons, existing contamination, or elevated dissolved solids concentration. An order granting an exemption allows an underground aquifer or a specified portion of an aquifer to be used for oil- or gas-related production, injection, or disposal purposes in compliance with EPA's requirements under the Safe Drinking Water Act, Underground Injection Control program, and State of Alaska regulations.

In response to an application for disposal filed by an operator, the AOGCC may issue an order authorizing the underground disposal of oil field wastes that the commission determines are suitable for disposal in a Class II well, as defined in 40 C.F.R. 144.6(b) as revised as of July 1, 1998, which is adopted by reference, or the underground storage of hydrocarbons.

This notice does not contain all the information filed by Great Bear. To obtain more information, contact the AOGCC's Special Assistant, Samantha Coldiron, at (907) 793-1223 or [email protected].

A public hearing on the matter has been tentatively scheduled for August 18, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. The hearing will be held in the AOGCC hearing room located at 333 West 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501. The audio call in information is (907) 202 7104 Conference ID: 876 367 057#. Anyone who wishes to participate remotely using MS Teams video conference should contact Ms. Coldiron at least two business days before the scheduled public hearing to request an invitation for the MS Teams. To request that the tentatively scheduled hearing be held, a written request must be filed with the AOGCC no later than 4:30 p.m. on July 24, 2026.

If a request for a hearing is not timely filed, the AOGCC may issue an order without a hearing. To learn if the AOGCC will hold the hearing, call (907) 793-1223 after July 27, 2026.

In addition, written comments regarding this application may be submitted to the AOGCC, at 333 west 7th Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501 or [email protected]. Comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on August 11, 2026, except that, if a hearing is held, comments must be received no later than the conclusion of the August 18, 2026, hearing.

If, because of a disability, special accommodations may be needed to comment or attend the hearing, contact Samantha Coldiron, at (907) 793-1223, no later than August 11, 2026.

Thomas W. McKay Jessie L. Chmielowski Gregory C. Wilson
Chair, Commissioner Commissioner Commissioner