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Week of Jun 29
A landslide has closed the Dalton Highway, the main road to the North Slope
A rain-triggered landslide closed the Dalton Highway north of Coldfoot on Monday — blocking the main road to the North Slope and the freight bound for the oil fields.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
ConocoPhillips is finding new oil in the Kuparuk field, in rock decades of drilling missed
The Kuparuk field has fallen 80% since its 1992 peak, but ConocoPhillips is reviving it by tapping Coyote and other reservoirs that older drilling technology overlooked.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
A gravel permit, and how North Slope oil is built on gravel
ConocoPhillips wants to expand a gravel pad at its Kuparuk field. It's a routine permit — but a small look at how North Slope oil is literally built on imported gravel.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago1 min read
At America's northernmost airport, the fuel is Iñupiat-owned
A dull fuel-lease notice at Utqiaġvik's airport hides a good story: the company keeping the northernmost airport supplied is an original ASRC business, built to serve the Iñupiat.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Why Washington's permitting overhaul lands harder in Alaska than almost anywhere
About 60% of Alaska is federal land, so Trump's NEPA permitting overhaul hits harder here. The complaint that reviews are too slow is bipartisan; how far to cut is the fight.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A federal royalty-rule change could shortchange the states and tribes it's owed to
A federal plan to simplify mineral royalties could shortchange states, tribes, and Native owners, as an audit finds the agency isn't collecting what it's owed.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Week of Jun 22
Alaska's gas-pipeline bill now carries a tax on Hilcorp and others
A permanent tax on pass-through oil companies like Hilcorp is riding inside Alaska's gas-pipeline bill — and it kicks in by 2028 whether the pipeline gets built or not.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Alaska's gas-line tax bill stalls in committee
Lawmakers writing Alaska's gas-line tax deal voted down both versions of the bill — now they need special authority to build a compromise from the pieces.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
More from North Slope
Kenai's quiet stake in the gas-line bill
Only Kenai Borough's school-funding bill changes under the gas-line tax legislation — but the state's own modeling says the increase might sunset before it ever lands.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Dunleavy vetoes nearly $90 million but leaves school funding intact
Gov. Dunleavy vetoed nearly $90 million from Alaska's budget, cutting increases for child care, Medicaid and local aid while leaving core school funding intact.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
The number that quietly sets the state budget: a barrel of oil
Alaska's budget is a bet on oil — and the state's own forecast is banking on crude leaping to $91 a barrel by summer, so "coming out ahead" rides on a guess, not a high price.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
A Florida company wants to expand a big offshore oil unit on the edge of ANWR
A Florida company wants to expand an offshore oil unit on the edge of ANWR — and the state tagged it "approved" before comments even opened. Weigh in by July 21.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
What APA's ice-road permit signals for the eastern North Slope
A state notice for "ice construction and off-road travel" sounds dull — until you notice it's APA Corp staging a winter drilling run on the eastern North Slope.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Trump Wildlife Pick Wants Fewer ESA Lawsuits — Alaska Is Ground Zero
Trump's wildlife nominee says the Endangered Species Act drowns in lawsuits — and nowhere does that fight bite harder than Alaska, where polar bears and belugas sit atop the oil patch.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
North Slope, Fairbanks, Valdez sue over pipeline tax values
Three Alaska municipalities sued June 22 over how pipeline companies value their assets for local taxes, challenging assessments that affect borough and city revenue.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Hilcorp wants five years to drive across North Slope subsistence land
A company wants 5 years to drive industrial rigs across North Slope tundra people hunt on. The real fight is who sets the rules, and when.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Coming up
North Slope Borough Mayor Community Report
Tikigaq School, Point Hope
Meeting
Pikka-Quokka 3D Seismic Survey Project Mobilization
Kivgiq 2027 Logo Design Submission Deadline
Public notice
Beaufort Sea Areawide 2026W, North Slope Areawide 2026W, and North Slope Foothills Areawide 2026 Competitive Oil and Gas Lease Sales - Bidding Results Released
Public notice
North Slope Foothills Areawide 2026 Oil and Gas Lease Sale: Bid Results Released
Public notice
About North Slope
The North Slope, governed as the North Slope Borough and also called the Arctic Slope, is the region of Arctic Alaska that stretches from the Brooks Range to the Beaufort Sea. Its communities include Utqiagvik, Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, Wainwright and Atqasuk, Inupiaq villages where subsistence hunting of caribou, muskox and whales is part of life.
The region holds the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay and the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, and the price of its crude shapes the state budget. Recurring questions concern oil and gas lease sales, drilling permits, developments such as the Willow project, and federal rules that weigh development against subsistence hunting and wildlife such as polar bears.
Deadhorse, with its airport and oilfield camps, serves the industry, and the Dalton Highway and the trans-Alaska pipeline run south from the oil fields toward Interior Alaska. Seasonal snow roads connect villages that have no road link.
More from North Slope
Point Thomson is the remote gas field Alaska's pipeline dream depends on
You know Prudhoe Bay. You probably don't know Point Thomson — the remote, pricey field Alaska's whole pipeline dream quietly leans on. And it's stirring.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 15
Alaska's LNG tax break now hinges on a gas line to Fairbanks
Alaska's LNG tax break now has a price: $80M, a labor deal, and a Fairbanks spur line before Glenfarne sees any relief.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Nalukataq season carries Alaska whaling traditions into summer
Nalukataq celebrations honoring bowhead whale hunts move across five northern Alaska communities from mid-June through early July, distributing whale meat and muktuk to mark the tradition.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
AIDEA authorized $190 million for ANWR — backed by Kaktovik, the residents
AIDEA put $190M behind ANWR seismic and lease bidding. Kaktovik — the only community inside the refuge — strongly supported it.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska Senate digs in on gas tax bill, sends it to conference
Alaska Senate refused to back down on HB 381, sending the natural gas pipeline tax bill to a conference committee to resolve how to tax the Alaska LNG Project and fund municipalities and schools.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Senate passes gas-line bill; Dunleavy immediately calls lawmakers back to rewrite it
Special session concludes without passage of a gasline bill, and now the question is if this is an end to negotiations or if they'll continue tomorrow. The Governor thinks they're close.
by Cale Green4mo ago3 min read
Dunleavy called a second special session over the unresolved LNG tax bill
Long Friday in Juneau: LNG tax bill stuck, second special session called, two vetoes overridden, three failed. Round three starts Saturday.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min readFrom 
UIC just crossed $1 billion in revenue — a milestone almost no village corp reaches
UIC just crossed $1 billion in revenue. Almost no Alaska Native village corporation gets there.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min readFrom 
Chugach and Glenfarne Alaska LNG signed a non-binding LOI — a step, not a contract
Chugach and Glenfarne signed a non-binding letter of intent. The pipeline still hasn't broken ground. One of many Chugach hedges.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago2 min read
Alaska Senate minority demands clean floor vote on LNG tax bill
Alaska Senate Republicans demanded a floor vote on HB 381, the LNG volumetric tax bill, without amendments. • The majority has not said whether it will attach an S-corporation tax provision the minority opposes. • Minority senators cited lower energy costs as the project's main public benefit for Alaskans.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alyeska Seeks Land to Armor the Pipeline Against Floods
Alyeska wants more North Slope land to wall the pipeline off from flooding — the same week the rivers are rising, and a year after the Sag took out the Dalton Highway for real.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Murkowski flagged Alaska parallels at a Senate deep-sea mining hearing
Pacific governors told the Senate BOEM ignores them. Murkowski said Alaska's facing the same thing.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
High Water Threatens Alaska's Only Road North
A rain-fed surge down the Koyukuk could wash out the Dalton Highway — the lone road feeding the North Slope oil fields — the same way 2015's flooding shut it for 28 days.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Nuiqsut's Lifeline River Is Rising Again
The Colville is flooding again from Umiat toward Nuiqsut — a year after hitting its highest level on record — and it's the only road the village's fuel and fish travel on.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Sag River nears bankfull, threatening Dalton Highway washout
Sagavanirktok River near bankfull on North Slope threatens Dalton Highway washouts between mileposts 310 and 340 through Thursday afternoon, with ice-blocked culverts posing particular risk to the primary road serving oil fields and communities.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 8
Alaska regulators say gas-line oversight hinges on federal decision
Federal regulators claim exclusive authority over Alaska's proposed North Slope gas pipeline, blocking state oversight of ratepayer costs. • The project's split into in-state and export phases may give Alaska regulators a limited role if federal jurisdiction is revisited. • Lead developer Glenfarne is targeting a final investment decision this year and first gas by 2029.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 5mo ago2 min read
North Slope rivers expected to rise as snowmelt, rain combine
It's finally spring in the arctic
by Maggie AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Alaska Building Trades, LNG subsidiary sign worker hiring pact
8 Star Alaska, a Glenfarre LNG subsidiary, signed a hiring agreement with Alaska Building Trades Councils on June 11 to prioritize Alaska workers for the 800-mile pipeline and LNG terminal. • The Alaska Legislature is considering House Bill 381 to cut project taxes and cap gas prices at $16 per unit for state utilities.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5mo ago1 min read
Alaska House passes new tax structure for Alaska LNG pipeline aimed at attracting investors
The Alaska House just passed the latest tax framework meant to finally install the LNG pipeline. Next, the Senate. Maybe. Pipeline still pending.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min read
Utqiaġvik records second-coldest May high in 105 years
Utqiaġvik recorded its second-coldest May high in 105 years at 29°F while most of the Arctic ran warm, triggering river ice jams that flooded Holy Cross and its airstrip in late May.
by Maggie AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min readFrom 
Senate Finance weighs Alaska LNG tax worth $124M a year — and whether it's enough for host communities
Governments are making compromises on the amount of property tax they'll receive - not all are happy about it
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min read
House Finance advances Alaska LNG tax bill, curtailing North Slope's power to negotiate
House Finance advanced Alaska LNG tax bill Wednesday: 13 cents, no side deals, double the impact fund to $80m
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min read
Fish and Wildlife Service seeks $5M to cut energy permit times in half
Fish and Wildlife Service is asking Congress for $5.1 million to cut endangered species review times from 30 to 14 days, a change that could speed up Alaska energy and mineral projects that have faced years of federal delays.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read
Fairbanks spur line language added to Alaska LNG tax bill
Fairbanks North Star Borough secured a requirement for a gas spur line in the state LNG tax bill. Developers must build the spur to access tax breaks. Costs will spread across Railbelt users to keep rates affordable for 3500 local customers.
by Walter AlaskaNews5mo ago2 min read
