North Slope oil & gas operations: Willow, Pikka, Point Thomson, production economics, tax debates, pipeline politics (TAPS)
Alaska Senate passed HB 381, the main bill enabling AK LNG, 11-8 Thursday, but dissenters flagged unresolved questions about a new income tax on oil and gas pass-through entities.

Alaska's Legislature advanced a revised LNG tax bill that replaces municipal property taxes with a state volumetric tax, redirecting an estimated $500 million in annual local revenue by 2033.

A House-Senate conference committee draft of HB 381 keeps a proposed income tax on oil-and-gas pass-through entities but delays collections to 2029.

The Alaska House just passed the latest tax framework meant to finally install the LNG pipeline. Next, the Senate. Maybe. Pipeline still pending.

A "stolen" state document laying out how Alaska could fire Glenfarne from its $44B gas line leaked — and the developer says it's now wondering whether Alaska can keep a secret.

A routine permit lets Alyeska pull gravel from the Sag floodplain for pipeline upkeep — but not what the private pipeline giant pays the public for it. A senator's been asking.

New state numbers on Alaska LNG: exports are what make gas cheap for Alaskans (about $5/mcf vs. $12.65 without them), but a cost overrun could push the export price above what buyers pay.

AIDEA put $190M behind ANWR seismic and lease bidding. Kaktovik — the only community inside the refuge — strongly supported it.

The Justice Department conceded Alaska was right that the 2024 Arctic Refuge leasing program violated federal law by capping development below what Congress allowed.

The Arctic Refuge lease sale brought in $3.7 million from two bidders, a modest showing compared with the recent NPR-A sale’s 11 companies and $163 million-plus in receipts.

As Southcentral eyes a gas shortage, old seismic data on Shadura — an undeveloped Cook Inlet gas find near Nikiski, stuck under the Kenai refuge — is set to go public.

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.

ENSTAR locked in $16 per thousand cubic feet for North Slope pipeline gas, undercutting LNG imports at $20 to $23 but raising costs 48% above current Cook Inlet supply before adding $4.50 to $6 in distribution and storage charges.

Energy consultant says property tax costs $600 million yearly, making Alaska LNG unfinanceable.

This episode covers the week's major Alaska stories: a gas pipeline tax bill that added oil tax increases, the Point Thomson condensate trade-off for pipeline gas, Mount Edgecumbe enrollment crisis, and McNeil River bear sanctuary access proposals.

Alaska's LNG tax break now has a price: $80M, a labor deal, and a Fairbanks spur line before Glenfarne sees any relief.

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.

Senate Finance heard the proposed Alaska LNG tax break would cut state and municipal revenues by $18 billion over 30 years, but the estimate rests on construction costs that may range from $45 billion to $90 billion.

Should Hilcorp pay the oil tax ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips already do? It's worth $100M-plus a year — but critics warn taxing Cook Inlet's gas supplier could backfire.

Trump declared a ceasefire with Iran over after U.S. strikes on Iranian targets overnight, saying he no longer wants to negotiate with the country.

The spill plan for a 33-million-gallon North Pole jet fuel terminal is up for comment through July 29 — in a town that knows what fuel in its groundwater looks like.

Alaska’s LNG project may have just gotten a $24 billion “whoops.” The state has been planning around a $46 billion price tag, but lawmakers were told the real number may be closer to $70 billion — which is less of a budget update and more of a financial jump scare.

Senate Finance gets into the numbers of the LNG line in a hot and spicy day of meetings

HB 381 replaces municipal property taxes on the Alaska LNG project with a new volumetric tax. • Phase 1 revenue splits favor pipeline communities while Phase 2 directs 48 percent to the Kenai Peninsula Borough. • The state expects the project to generate 26 billion dollars over 30 years. • Tax changes expire if construction misses a December 31 2034 deadline.

Alaska's state investment bank meets privately July 8 on its biggest bets — Arctic Refuge oil, the Ambler mining road, Port MacKenzie — with public money on the line.

Alaska Senate passed a tax on oil and gas pass-through entities, effective 2028, after rejecting an immediate start date. The state estimates the tax will recover more than $400 million annually once the LNG project reaches full production.

Alaska LNG secured private financing to build 800-mile pipeline from North Slope to Cook Inlet, targeting 2027 construction start and 2029 gas delivery. • Needs tax stabilization law and utility regulator approval to proceed. • Export facility would sell 20 million tonnes of LNG yearly, mostly to Asia. • Project addresses Cook Inlet gas shortage and aims to lower Alaska energy costs.

House Finance advanced Alaska LNG tax bill Wednesday: 13 cents, no side deals, double the impact fund to $80m

Glenfarne raised Alaska LNG cost estimate to 44.5 to 54.5 billion dollars, up from state agency's 38.7 billion. • Legislature can buy 5 to 25 percent equity stake within 180 days after final investment decision. • Property tax reform is central to project financing, with current rates costing roughly 380 million dollars yearly during construction.

Glenfarne secured financing for Alaska LNG pipeline, targeting 2027 construction and 2029 delivery to Cook Inlet, pending tax legislation. • National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska lease sale drew $163 million in bids for 1.3 million acres, though one block faces court challenge. • Dunleavy and economist Wade argued regulatory streamlining and energy access drive economic growth.

Long Friday in Juneau: LNG tax bill stuck, second special session called, two vetoes overridden, three failed. Round three starts Saturday.

ConocoPhillips wants to lay gravel for two small Kuparuk expansions — the kind of routine, acre-at-a-time growth critics say is exactly how the North Slope's footprint quietly spreads.

Governor Mike Dunleavy urged the legislature to pass a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes bill within three weeks, calling it essential to financing what he described as the largest project in Alaska history, an LNG pipeline from the North Slope.

Alaska House Finance voted 6-5 Monday to write a $16-per-MMBtu price cap for natural gas into the state's Alaska LNG tax bill, protecting consumers even if Enstar's contract with the developer remains unsigned.

The Senate's gas-line rewrite caps your gas price, leashes the state's pipeline agency, and lets the boroughs pocket most of the tax money for decades before the state takes its cut.

AIDEA approved up to $190 million on May 13 for seismic surveys and lease evaluation in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain ahead of a federal lease sale scheduled for June 2026.

Lawmakers have a working Alaska LNG tax deal — a $16 ratepayer price cap, a required Fairbanks spur line, and two unresolved fights over legality and Kenai's school costs.

Consultant warns Senate Finance that Alaska LNG faces megaproject risks, citing data showing 67% of LNG projects exceed budgets by 70% on average.

The gas line's headline $16 price is firm — until you notice it's quoted in the wrong unit, climbs with inflation before any gas arrives, and gets policed by a commission missing half its top staff.

All three major North Slope producers have signed Alaska LNG Phase 1 sale agreements — and they want their ownership to stop at the lease line
