Juneau -- Tuesday, the members of the Joint Special Committee on Mergers unanimously voted to oppose the BP Amoco/ARCO original merger configuration and the merger as configured in the Amended Charter Agreement as not being in the best interests of Alaskans. The adopted proposal is based on a detailed final staff report released two weeks ago.

"It is important for the people of Alaska to understand that what the Committee did today was to pass a recommendation to the Administration and to all the parties involved in the merger," said Committee Chair, Senator Rick Halford (R-Chugiak). "We do not have any formal standing to get involved in the merger litigation."

The final report contains numerous, detailed recommendations by antitrust attorneys, economists and oil industry experts. It concluded that the Amended Charter Agreement did not require BP to divest a sufficient portion of ARCO's assets to provide for competition by a vertically integrated company that is the functional equivalent of ARCO in its ability to participate in the same level of competition in all phases of operations.

"Some members of the committee were reluctant to reject the merger but after a thorough review of the findings by the Committee's experts it was our belief that the Amended Charter does not go far enough to ensure vigorous competition on the North Slope," said House Speaker Brian Porter (R-Anchorage). "We are hopeful that the Federal Trade Commission, BP, and all the other parties to the litigation can negotiate a satisfactory agreement."

A complete copy of the final staff report can be seen at the following web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org/pastlegs/Halford.htm#Merger.

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