Alaska Energy Conference 2026-05-19 - part 4

Negative things happen. And unfortunately in Alaska, we have very high suicide rates that can be fought, I think, in part by providing jobs and employment. We have, for example, we have some young fellows from Allakaket, a very small rural Native community, that are working on the Ambler Road. They're earning $70 an hour.

You know, paychecks can be as much as $6,000 to $10,000 net, and they're very, very happy with that. So for us, it's not just about the bottom line. It's also about helping Alaskans. And our best advertisement, frankly, for our projects is an Alaskan from a small village community that's working on one of our jobs. Everyone in that community sees them, sees that they're working every day, and able to actually afford a subsistence lifestyle.

So that's our, our goal. Why invest in Alaska right now? It's a secure place to invest. Alaska's economic exclusive economic zone extends out 200 miles along our coast. We had some discussions about this today with several potential partners about how important it is to diversify supply lines.

And if you can have those supply lines or fiber lines, whatever they are, run through the U.S. EEZ, you've got a pretty secure line. We've got patrols regularly by the U.S. Coast Guard, NOAA vessels, and others. Next slide. The next slide is— that's the EEZ. You can see the light blue.

So at the end of the Aleutian chain, you're roughly only, I think, 1,800 miles from Japan. And so with Japan's EEZ reaching toward Alaska and the U.S.'s EEZ, you know, you've got a pretty secure area to put projects into or to ship in. One of the projects we're looking at is a new subsea fiber connection, high-speed, high-capacity, between Northeast Asia and Alaska, and then up the Dalton Highway, possibly connecting over, over the Arctic Ocean with Europe, and then a leg south to the West Coast. So we want to make Alaska a hub for connectivity and not bypassed. We also have in Alaska, when you're doing business in Alaska, if you're in mining, oil and gas, etc., we have huge, huge projects, huge-sized projects.

If you come to Alaska to do business in natural resources, you're hunting elephants, not mosquitoes. And this is a slide that shows the Section 1002 National Refuge Coastal Plain, which is separate from the refuge itself. This is in an area that was set aside for oil and gas development by Congress. And you'll see these 26 different oil reservoirs, some of them very large. Numbers 18 and 19 to the right, I think, are equivalent in geographic size to Prudhoe Bay.

I don't know that they contain that same amount of oil, but they're very large deposits. Ada has leases to the left toward the boundary in the A section, and we think we've got 4 to 5 billion barrels of oil and 7 to 8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas on our leases, so we'll be looking to monetize those. Advance those and move it forward. Large volumes of natural gas, been there for quite a while at Prudhoe Bay and other locations. Mineral potential.

This is a map. It's a little colorful, jumbled, but everything in yellow, orange, or red is potential copper deposits. And you can see that the size of those is very large area. Just the area to the left near the Bornite Mine was described as one of the 30 largest deposits in the world. That was decades ago.

With this new information, we think this area's got potentially top 10 level amounts of of copper.

We are building that road. We're in the field now. We're drilling what we need to do at the bridge sites, and we'll be advancing that project.

Alaska is also a business-friendly environment. We have federal tax benefits here, opportunity zones, rural opportunity zones, new market tax credits. ADA itself is a tax-exempt entity. And then the Ted Stevens Airport, we have great infrastructure. The international airport.

And then AIDA is working on, with some partner corporations, the railroad and others, on establishing and growing the Port McKenzie Railport. That would be an export terminal site for the Ambler Metals, Ambler Minerals, other minerals, and also a site where incoming freight could come in. So we've got a lot going on. ADA board has approved nearly $400 million out in the last probably 9 months for a number of projects. Alyeskem, ANWR, Ambler Road.

And so we're really moving. Alaskans, I think, will be really happy with the results in a few years. Our dividend should continue to grow. We should be able to create thousands of jobs. And keep Alaska growing, heading the right direction.

So thank you. That's my update.

Thank you, Randy. That was great. Next up, I'd like to welcome Senator Dan Sullivan, who is Alaska's 8th United States governor. Since taking office in 2015, Senator Sullivan has been a leading voice on issues critical to Alaska and to the Arctic. And we love to tell people around the country the reason we are an Arctic nation is because of Alaska.

Senator Sullivan serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Commerce, Environment and Public Works, Veterans Affairs committees. He is a Marine Corps veteran, a former Alaska Attorney General, a former Alaska Commissioner of Department of Natural Resources, and he has long focused on strengthening America's energy with security, with military readiness, infrastructure development, and a strategic presence in the North. Throughout his career in public service, Senator Sullivan has championed Alaska's role in national security resource development, Arctic policy, and economic growth. And this helps us elevate the importance of the North on the national and global stage. So ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming Senator Dan Sullivan, who is joining us today in a recorded message because he is in— not in Juneau, he's in Washington, D.C., doing the people's work.

Senator Sullivan. Greetings from Washington, D.C. It's U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan right here on the steps of the U.S. Senate in front of our gorgeous Capitol. It's a gorgeous day, but to be perfectly honest, um, I'd much rather be in Alaska at the Alaska Energy Conference.

Governor Dunleavy, great job. This is the 5th annual. Congratulations to all of our visitors from all over the world. Welcome to the great state of Alaska. And to everybody who put this great conference on, congratulations.

There is so much going on. What I like to say is we are in the midst of the Alaska comeback on so many things. But the Alaska comeback is particularly as it relates to resource development and jobs, thousands of jobs that come with a strong Alaska economy. Now, the question begs itself, hey, what are we coming back from? Well, I'll tell you what we're coming back from.

We're coming back from the horrible policies that were in this town, the last frontier lockup. That's the Biden, when he was in power, 70 executive orders trying to crush our state right here. But you know what? That's gone. It also is the Schumer shutdown when Chuck Schumer was Senate Majority Leader right here.

That guy, man, he's made a career out of trying to crush our state. But the Schumer shutdown, the Biden shutdown, They're gone, right? We are now in the midst of the Alaska comeback. And what is it? Well, I was just with Secretary Bergman, our great Secretary of Interior and the Chairman of the Energy Dominance Council at the White House, in Alaska just this past weekend.

We were on the North Slope. We went to Willow on Friday. We went to Pitka on Friday. And by the way, it was unbelievable. Why?

Willow, in the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska, just a year ago I was there, it was a gravel pad. That was it. Now it is a medium-sized Alaska city. You can't believe how much has been done by the great Alaska worker. Yes, I'm talking about the building trades, the laborers, the operating engineers, the teamsters.

All these guys and these independent contractors who are doing fantastic work. They have built Willow, they have built Pitcairn into energy powerhouses inside of a year. By the way, in 40 below zero and in the dark with ice roads. The best workers on the planet Earth are Alaskan workers, and man, oh man, did I see it front and center Friday on the North Slope. What else did we see?

We saw Pitcairn, and we heard the news on Friday. We couldn't let it out until Sunday, but first oil already at Pitcairn, 80,000 barrels a day. How about a round of applause for that? That is awesome. You know, I'm kind of proud of that one as the DNR Commissioner.

I had a lot to do with the operations at Pitcairn, the original exploration wells, some leases that other companies weren't really using. So we said, hey, you got to use them or lose them. They lost them. We put them back in the state lease sale. Some other folks picked it up.

That became the heart and soul of PITCA. Now we're seeing it. That is fantastic. So what's the other Alaska comeback news? Well, I'll tell you this.

It's the lease sale at the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska that we just had. The biggest lease sale ever with regard to NPRA. Again, considered probably the hottest basin in the world. How did that happen? I'll tell you how it happened.

You saw those charts that I showed you. Biden, Schumer, they were all about literally trying to illegally lock up NPRA. What did we do? We passed the bill. I was glad to lead the effort here in the U.S. Senate, the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, said, 10 years of mandatory lease sales.

Then in December, I led the effort to pass a law that ripped the Biden regulation shutting down NPRA out by the roots and said that no federal agency can re-regulate in that area. That gave our companies— big ones, medium-sized ones, small ones— certainty to say, hey, I'm coming back to Alaska. I now have certainty that the far left, uh, groups that unfortunately control a lot of the people here. They don't have the ability to shut down Alaska. We have 10 years now of certainty, at least, to build out NPR-A.

That's what happened. It's super exciting. And let me end with a couple of things that are super exciting. The Alaska Gas Line. Now, look, the Alaska LNG project, the gas line— people have been talking about that for almost a half century.

I know you roll their eyes, some people. Hey, sure, Dan, we've been hearing about this for half a century, but here's the facts. We have never been further. This is the greatest opportunity we're ever going to have to get this done. We're running out of gas for South Central and Cook Inlet.

That is a fact. And what we've been trying to do here in D.C., and we've had a lot of success, is get the federal government fully on board to be a supporter of this. And they are, from the President to the Secretary Secretary Bergstrom, Secretary Wright, they are all fully supporting in every way possible. And I've been working really closely for years with our foreign allies in Asia to also be big off-takers. We're making huge progress.

We've never made more progress. In my speech to the Alaska legislature, I did say, all right, guys, we're working it hard here in D.C. at the federal level. Now, we need you guys to do the same. I'm not going to tell you how to do it, but you got to compromise. You got to work, but you got to focus to keep the momentum going.

Certainly, don't put up legislation that's going to block this. I mean, I can't even imagine anyone back home would try to do that. So let's work together. Let's seize this opportunity. My view is, we don't get it done now with the Trump administration, and the Republicans here in the Senate and the House who want to get it done, who are focused on getting it done.

I'm not sure we're ever going to get it done. This is our moment. This is the opportunity. Join me in doing everything we can to get us over the goal line. There's going to be a lot of stakeholders at this energy conference.

They're all there ready to make this happen. We're really close. And it's historic. And by the way, every single one of these projects I'm talking about is going to create and is already creating thousands of jobs. These are good-paying jobs, but they're not just jobs.

When you have these great jobs in our communities, they strengthen communities, they give families a sense of pride, they give workers a sense of pride. So that's the positive side. One more thing, I want to thank Secretary Burgham for announcing what I had been asking the White House to do, and they did it quick. Is a Western Alaska, rural Alaska energy task force coming out of the White House to help us with regard to some of the challenges that we have in rural Alaska on the price of diesel, on getting diesel supplies. My team and I have been working it.

I went to the White House saying, hey, we need the whole federal government to help the great people of rural Alaska with energy. Secretary Burgum announced that at our community event in Fairbanks on Saturday night. More to follow on that. But anyways, a lot of great opportunities, thousands of jobs. Thanks again, Governor, for you and your team, all for putting on this conference.

And again, welcome to all the great visitors coming to Alaska. We are the hottest place in the world for energy development, and we want you to be part of it.

Thank you to Senator Sullivan. I'd now like to introduce you to the afternoon lunch panel and talk about the next session. This session is going to bring together leaders who are shaping the future of America's energy investment, resource development, at both state and national level. To get us started, please join me in welcoming Governor Mike Dunleavy. I'd like to invite you to the stage, Governor.

The governor was born and raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Governor Dunleavy headed north to Alaska after completing his degree in history at Misericordia University. His journey began at a logging camp in Ketchikan in 1983, and soon after he took a job as a teacher nearly 1,200 miles away in the village of Koyukuk. There in the Northwest Arctic for nearly 20 years, Governor Dunleavy taught in some of the most rural schools in the United States. He was a teacher, a principal, and a superintendent while he also completed his master's degree in cross-cultural education from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

It was in the Arctic that the governor met and married his wife and Alaska's First Lady, Rose Dunleavy. Rose is an Inupiaq from the Kobuk River which is a village north of— excuse me, a village of Norvik. Together they have raised their 3 daughters in Alaska, Maggie, Katherine, and Seal, both in rural and eventually urban Alaska. All 3 of the Dunleavy daughters are employed at the Red Dog Mine at the Northwest Arctic Borough. In 2022, Governor Dunleavy became the first governor to become the— to be elected to a second term since 1998, and the first Republican to win a second term since 1978.

I will tell you personally from working with him, this man loves the state of Alaska. He's very patriotic. He also loves our country. And if you ever want to challenge him on his love of country, start talking some history with him. Because he knows all about our country and how we got started.

And I would say that's probably what he reads, uh, at nighttime. And it's not to fall asleep, it's because he's one of those people that I don't think needs a lot of sleep, and so he just gets smarter as the nights go on. He cares about people. I have seen him do countless acts of kindness for people where he's never gotten any attention, and to me that's a real true measure of a person and says a lot about them. So please Welcome our host, Governor Mike Dunleavy, and joining him is Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who has been a national advocate for American energy security, innovation, and responsible resource development.

His leadership has focused on balancing economic opportunity, technological advancement, and long-term national competitiveness. This presentation is going to be hosted by Maynard Holt, who is the founder and CEO of Veriton. Through Veriton and the widely followed Close of Business Tuesday podcast, Maynard brings together diverse perspectives on the future of global energy, the markets, investments, and policy. Prior to this, he spent more than 27 years in energy investment banking, including leadership roles at Tudor, Pickering, Holt Company, and Goldman Sachs. So again, join me in welcoming Governor Mike Dunleavy, Secretary Doug Burgum, and Maynard Holt.

So that was great. I had forgotten about your logging camp experience, Governor. I think we should make the whole discussion about logging camp. That'd be fun. Okay.

Well, you just don't hear enough logging camp information. But seriously, it's— what an honor to be with you two guys to talk about the partnership between the federal government and the state government, talk about the leadership you're both bringing to American energy. Delighted to have all of you. We will send this out tomorrow as a Close of Business Tuesday episode. I'm sure it will be widely watched in many quarters.

Maybe I could just jump in with you, Governor, to kick this off. Because in spending time with you, you know, your reign as governor has been— you've seen a lot. Elected in '17. We call them terms, not reigns. Terms.

But you've had quite an experience. You've seen a lot. And to Senator Sullivan's point, you saw an era where the federal government the federal government was not your partner, and now we have a new era where the federal government is your partner. Would you mind contrast that a little bit for us, you know, with an emphasis on all the positive things that are happening, but it's a dramatic change and you've seen both sides of the coin, so I just thought maybe that'd be a good place to start. Well, thanks, Mayor, and I would say night and day, and that's That may be understating it.

So I came into office in, was elected in 2017, came in in 2018, and I was able to work with President Trump and his administration for those 2 years, and they did incredible things. King Cove Road, they start to work on taking care of that issue. The lease sales in ANWR, trying to get the Tongass National Forest back as a working forest, gave us a presidential permit to build a railroad between Alaska and Canada. I mean, the list went on and on and on. And, you know, we were talking earlier and I, to this day, and someday I'm going to ask him personally, you know, what is it about Alaska that you have an affinity for?

Because we're way up here in the top of the world. We don't have a lot of, you know, Electoral College votes, et cetera, et cetera. But he really has treated Alaska well. As a matter of fact, I tell people in all honesty, that's the, He's been the best president for the state of Alaska ever. So Joe Biden comes in to be president.

The place was shut down almost on day one. Dan Sullivan has used to have a sheet of paper that had upwards of 80, quote, sanctions. And we, you know, Dan and I call them sanctions in which the state of Alaska was sanctioned by the federal government. You can't do this. You can't do that.

We're not going to do the lease sales. We're going to pull back on this. We're gonna shut down the Tongass National Forest. And you gotta remember, and for those that aren't from the state of Alaska, just real quick, Alaska only became a state because we agreed with the federal officials back in 1959 that we would develop our resources to pay our way, 'cause our population was too small. So here we have a compulsion to develop, and then we have the Biden administration, which is doing the opposite.

So it was nothing short of a nightmare, because 60-plus percent of Alaska 222 million acres is federal land. And we have a patchwork of ownership, land ownership, et cetera, that became problematic if you don't have a federal government that wants to help you. Flash forward, President Trump is reelected. Day one, I think it was one of his first, if not the first action, was an executive order for the state of Alaska. Only state I think in history that ever had an executive order all about Alaska, all about opening it up and creating opportunity.

And that's the thing about this administration, it's about opportunity. Let's flash forward because a lot of presidents have said things. A lot of presidents have made proclamations and pronouncements. I get a call on New Year's Day 2026, and it's Doug Burgum. And I've known Doug as a governor out of North Dakota.

And I'm thinking, wow, okay, he's calling up to wish me a happy new year. No, he was working. He said, Mike, I'm working. I just got off the phone with the president. And I want to talk to you about this issue and that issue and this issue and that issue.

And I said to myself, this is gonna be something different. This is not gonna be the same old, same old talk about it and forget about it. And that call has been a series of calls, a series of interactions, a series of them following through, and that's the key. They just didn't talk about it, following through. And I know that the Secretary will tell you that in his conversations with President Trump, And President Trump will ask him, "How's that gas line going?

How's that King Cove Road going? How's that Ambler Road going?" The President is phenomenal when it comes to those sort of things, and it's been such, such an amazing journey having that President come back and having Secretary Burgum, along with the other administrators that are terrific, but Secretary Burgum, as he said to me, "Mike, your state is 60% of our portfolio at DOI." And as a result of that, we're going to spend some time up here. He's been up here several times, and he doesn't— it's not a— it's not an in and out. It's on the ground talking with all the constituents, stakeholders, and making things work. It's been nothing short of amazing.

Uh, Secretary Burgum, maybe to pull you in here, maybe talk a little bit about how the administration does see Alaska. How is it part of a bigger vision of American energy? And as part of that, it is interesting, you were an energy governor. So you know what it is like to try to develop resource, to try to attract industry. You were a businessman.

So maybe those two forces as you talk about how you see Alaska. I will, but first of all, I want to just thank the Governor and thank everybody that's here at this conference. Because if you're here and you're spending time here at this conference, you're part of the solution. You're going to make a difference because Alaska is part of a global realignment of geopolitics in terms of where the center— the center of economy, the center of prosperity, the center of projecting peace around the world. It's moving towards the Western Hemisphere from other parts of the world.