The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Act (1955) created the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (AOGCC or Commission). The Commission was composed of the Governor of the Territory of Alaska, the Territorial Commissioner of Mines, and the Territorial Highway Engineer. Rules and regulations governing Commission activities became effective on October 1, 1958.
Under the State Organization Act of 1959, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission was abolished, its function and authority transferred to the Department of Natural Resources, Division of Mines and Minerals. A group within the department was designated to hold hearings and issue decisions on oil and gas matters. This group was the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Committee which consisted of the Director of the Division of Mines and Minerals (Chairman), the State Petroleum Geologist, the State Petroleum Engineer, and the Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.
In 1968 the Division of Oil and Gas was created within the Department on Natural Resources. The new division arose from the Petroleum Branch of the Division of Mines and Minerals. The Alaska Oil and Gas Committee was placed within the new division, and consisted of the Director, Chief Petroleum Geologist, and Chief Petroleum Engineer. In 1976 the word "conservation" was added to the division's title, and it became the Division of Oil and Gas Conservation.
With the advent of production from Prudhoe Bay in 1977, the Legislature became concerned with the potential conflict between the state's revenue interest in high production rates on state leases and the state's conservation interest in protecting total ultimate recovery. To obviate its concern, the Legislature amended AS 31.05 by Chapter 158, SLA 1978 to create a new Commission, effective January 1, 1979, as an independent quasi-judicial agency within the executive branch of the state. Initially, the new Commission was housed within the Department of Natural Resources, but in 1980 it was transferred to the Department of Commerce and Economic Development. More recently, Governor Hickel transferred the Commission to the Department of Administration on February 17, 1994.