Juneau -- Legislative leaders announced Friday that the Legislature has retained two law firms to closely scrutinize BP Amoco's planned purchase of Atlantic Richfield Co. (Arco).

Preston, Gates and Ellis is an Anchorage law firm that specializes in state antitrust law. The firm will focus on Alaska's antitrust statutes, a separate set of state laws applicable to this acquisition, and independent of any federal laws that may apply.

Collier, Shannon, Rill and Scott is a Washington D.C. firm that concentrates on Federal Trade Commission (FTC) procedure and federal antitrust law. Both firms have substantial background in mergers and acquisitions relating to the oil and gas industry.

Senate President Drue Pearce appointed Senator Rick Halford, Chair of the Senate Resources Committee, as project director for the Senate. House Speaker Brian Porter will represent the House of Representatives. Together, they will coordinate activities relating to the law firm work contracts to expedite the information-gathering process. Accumulation of technical and legal knowledge is necessary to afford legislators the ability to formulate an opinion on the proposed acquisition.

Speaker Porter noted that together, BP Amoco and Arco would control nearly 75 percent of all present Alaska oil production and would own more than 70 percent of the Alyeska pipeline. "The fact that one company would control so large a portion of Alaska's oil and gas resources puts our state in a completely different position," said Porter.

"In mergers and acquisitions of this nature, the FTC doesn't always stamp the proposal yes or no," said Senator Pearce. "There is a significant gray area, and the FTC is free to require divestiture and other measures to ensure a competitive market place. We need to examine all the possibilities for making this acquisition as beneficial as possible for Alaska."

"It's too early to know the acquisition's real long-term impact on Alaskans, but not too early to examine the ramifications this acquisition will have on Alaska properties, Alaska jobs, and resource development," said Senator Pearce. "The legislature and the administration will be working in concert to ensure that Alaska's interests are properly represented before the FTC. In addition, we must take a special look at our own state anti-trust statutes as they apply to this proposal."