Bill Walker, Alaska Dispatch, July 15, 2010

It is being widely reported that various companies are considering acquiring BP.

As Alaskans we must be ever diligent to ensure our interests are protected. It has been reported that Exxon Mobil Corp. has approached the White House for affirmation that the Obama administration will not oppose its takeover of BP. As a founding member of Backbone, a nonpartisan group of Alaskans who successfully prevented BP’s acquisition of ARCO Alaska’s interest in the North Slope, I am deeply troubled by this recent announcement.

Backbone was a group of several dozen Alaskans who stood together to oppose monopolization of the North Slope by a multinational corporation in the early 2000s. Its only objective was to advocate for what was best for Alaska. The politically diverse members included former Govs. Wally Hickel and Jay Hammond, Vic Fisher, David Gottstein, Malcolm Roberts, Chancy Croft, Jack Roderick, Mead Treadwell, and other Alaskan patriots. Many of us lobbied the Federal Trade Commission and travelled to D.C. to testify to stop the BP acquisition of ARCO Alaska. This ad hoc group was ultimately successful in preventing BP from controlling over two-thirds of Alaskan oil production, and as a direct result of those efforts, we enjoy the benefit of ConocoPhillips operating in Alaska today.
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