North Slope

ConocoPhillips' Disclosed Alaska Royalties Fell 58% in Two Years

ConocoPhillips paid $37.97 million in royalties on its federal Alaska leases last year, down 58 percent from 2023, partly on lower oil prices.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

Ice risk on the Dalton Highway and Arctic Coast until noon

Freezing rain and snow could make roads slippery on the Beaufort Sea Coast and Arctic Plains through noon Wednesday, National Weather Service warns.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read

State-backed Alyeschem plant reaches construction milestone

Alyeschem has finished driving foundation piles for its Prudhoe Bay chemical plant. Alaska's backing is a repayable loan, not a $70 million grant.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago2 min read

Alpine pipeline seeks nearly double metering capacity for Willow-era output

A North Slope pipeline wants to nearly double how much oil it can meter as Willow nears production. The filing changes measurement capacity, not Willow's approval.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read

A Wainwright corporation will sweep Energy Department offices for bugs

A Wainwright village corporation's subsidiary will sweep Energy Department offices for hidden microphones and cameras, under a $2.35 million contract.

by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read

BLM Rule Would Cut NPR-A Pad Approvals to 60 Days, Limit Hunting

The BLM's own analysis found a proposed drilling rule would significantly restrict subsistence hunting for three North Slope villages. Hearings begin Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago3 min readFrom Sep 8

Follows: BLM rule would let NPR-A operators waive subsistence conditions without public notice

A bill would guarantee vehicle access for the village inside Gates of the Arctic

A national park was drawn around Anaktuvuk Pass in 1980 without asking. A bill would guarantee the village the right to drive out and go hunting.

by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 8

Kaktovik flushes millions of gallons of glycol-tainted water after plant mistake

Kaktovik is flushing glycol-tainted water after a plant error. The borough calls the level low-risk for adults; it topped every federal guideline.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kaktovik under a do-not-drink notice after ethylene glycol found

High surf advisory holds until 10 p.m. Saturday as Utqiaġvik logs record September rain

A storm brought high surf to Alaska's Arctic coast and set a September rainfall record in Utqiagvik, the wettest day there in records going back to 1920.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

ConocoPhillips asks Alaska regulators to set Willow drilling and injection rules

ConocoPhillips asked state regulators to set Willow's drilling and injection rules. Nuiqsut's city and tribe dropped their opposition letter in 2023.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 3

A federal rule would let NPR-A drilling spread pad by pad, skipping environmental study

A federal rule would let oil drilling spread across NPR-A pad by pad — each new site fast-tracking the next and skipping the environmental study now required.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Oil above $101 puts Alaska's budget on a war in the Persian Gulf

Every dollar oil moves is worth about $35 million to Alaska's treasury. Brent closed above $101 Wednesday, up more than half from a year ago.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

North Slope oil is running below the state's forecast so far, and the price is running above it

Alaska's oil is flowing below the state's revenue forecast while the price runs above it. The two effects roughly offset, and the year is only ten weeks old.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

NOAA is paying $735,000 for more cleanup at a site Alaska will not close

NOAA is paying $735,000 for another year of cleanup at a former weather office site, where the state has refused to close out one building yet.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Minnesota hunter cited for wanton waste of a caribou near Sagwon

Minnesota hunter cited for leaving edible meat unsalvaged on a bull caribou near Sagwon and removing antlers before finishing the salvage.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 22

Two Arctic climate-data sources lose federal funding, kept alive by others

Two Arctic climate-data sources Alaska relies on lost their federal funding this past year. Both are now kept alive by universities and private groups.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 1

Most of Alaska labor backs Peltola. Sullivan took some anyway.

Most of Alaska's organized labor backs Peltola, but Sullivan has drawn several major unions, including some that cross the usual lines.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

The pipeline right-of-way comment window got another week

The public has until Sept. 17 to comment on whether the trans-Alaska pipeline keeps its federal right-of-way for 30 more years, after the Bureau of Land Management extended the deadline by a week.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 26

Hilcorp wants a North Slope gravel mine with no wetland payback

Hilcorp wants to mine gravel across about 95 acres of North Slope tundra near Deadhorse with no wetland compensation, arguing Arctic wetlands can't be replaced.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kaktovik under a do-not-drink notice after ethylene glycol found

Kaktovik residents can't drink the village tap water after testing found ethylene glycol, the toxic compound in antifreeze, in the system. Boiling won't help.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

BLM rule would let NPR-A operators waive subsistence conditions without public notice

A new BLM rule lets oil and gas operators in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve waive mitigation conditions, including four protections for subsistence hunting, without public notice.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Grants target Medicare aid Alaska seniors often leave unclaimed

Federal grants of about $271,814 will help low-income Alaska seniors sign up for Medicare programs many never claim, as the state's older population grows.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Hilcorp says the North Slope is running short of gravel and wants a new mine

Hilcorp is seeking state approval for a 64-acre gravel mine seven miles northwest of Deadhorse, with public comment due Sept. 28, as the company's existing North Slope gravel sources run low.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 28

ConocoPhillips drilled in the NPR-A this winter and has not said what it found

ConocoPhillips drilled multiple wells in the NPR-A this winter and added $104 million to costs it has not resolved. It has not said what it found.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 31

Doyon says the Rig 26 tundra cleanup is in its final phase

Doyon says cleanup where its Rig 26 toppled near Nuiqsut has reached its final phase, though the state hasn't independently confirmed the company's account.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

NIH gives Anchorage's Olgoonik $5.1 million in three uncompeted contracts

NIH awarded Olgoonik General $5.1 million this month for maintenance at its Bethesda campus under a no-bid program for Alaska Native firms.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Former mayor Harry Brower Jr. files to run against Patkotak for North Slope Borough mayor

Harry Brower Jr. ran the North Slope Borough for seven years and wants it back. He and the incumbent are both from Utqiagvik, in a borough of eight villages.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 31

State opens four-permit muskox hunt in Unit 26B as herd falls to 220

Alaska will issue four bull muskox permits in Unit 26B starting Oct. 1, even though the herd has crashed to 220 animals, well below the 300-animal management target.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A proposed rule would cut years of NPR-A oil review down to 60 days

Building an oil site in the NPR-A takes years of review. A proposed rule makes it 60 days for anything within 25 miles of existing infrastructure.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago4 min read

Kaktovik leaders back 1002 Area development and press AIDEA to weigh local knowledge

Kaktovik leaders told AIDEA board members that oil and gas decisions in the Arctic refuge's 1002 Area must include local residents and traditional knowledge, not just outside voices.

by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

He fought the fire that destroyed his Kaktovik school. Now he's helping to rebuild it.

Kaktovik crane operator Roy Robert Fischer-Akootchook, who fought the 2020 school fire, now operates equipment on its rebuild, with the new gym open since December 2025.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

North Slope Borough Assembly raises lot density to four homes in zoning code rewrite

North Slope Borough Assembly voted 9-0 to allow four homes per lot instead of two, aiming to address a shortage of 637 housing units across the region.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Chukchi coastal waters expected to become ice free within days, NWS says

Chukchi Sea navigational waters off Alaska will become ice free within days, the National Weather Service said Monday, though Arctic-wide sea ice remains near record lows for this time of year.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

$21 million for 29 miles of the road that supplies the North Slope

Federal records show $21 million for 29 miles of the Dalton Highway, the road that supplies the North Slope. The state awarded the work in May 2025.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

A fight over whether North Slope oil money stays local or goes to the whole state

Alaska's bigger cut of North Slope oil revenue has set off a fight over whether it stays with the communities nearest the drilling or goes to the whole state.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago7 min readFrom Aug 27

Assembly candidate Berga discloses North Slope job, Kenai Fish stake

Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly candidate Nathan Berga disclosed North Slope oilfield income and ownership of a Soldotna fishing business in a financial filing Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Alaska schools fight FCC proposals that could cut their internet lifeline

Alaska schools rely on $200 million a year in discounted internet through E-Rate, and education groups are fighting FCC proposals that could cut it back.

by Melinda Communities.Newsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Alaska Supreme Court upholds rule requiring rent on expired oil leases during appeals

The Alaska Supreme Court upheld a rule requiring oil companies to keep paying rent on expired leases while appealing, ending five North Slope leases.

by Alaska News2mo ago2 min read

Hilcorp wants to fill 95 acres of Arctic wetlands for a gravel mine — comment by Sept. 4

Hilcorp wants to fill about 95 acres of Arctic tundra wetlands near Prudhoe Bay for a gravel mine, with no offset for the loss. Comment is open until Sept. 4.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Fairbanks would spend $1.2 million more to defend the pipeline's value in court

Fairbanks would pour another $1.2 million into defending the pipeline's assessed value in court — a decades-old fight over a tax base that funds its schools.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read