Pipelines at Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope. (Loren Holmes / ADN archive)
Alaska legislators are being asked to grant a 90% reduction in state and local gas property taxes to advance the latest North Slope natural gas project without knowing whether other revenue concessions and costs may be asked of the state in the future. Some legislators are asking for more information before deciding on the tax reduction. History confirms their cautious approach.
Since the 1950s, at least 15 efforts have been made to transport North Slope gas to Alaskans and outside markets. Early private company attempts failed because of high costs, changing market conditions and a lack of commitment from the major corporate oil and gas producers that controlled the gas supply and had the capacity to move a project forward.
In 1996, a consultant advised Alaska policymakers that oil and gas tax changes locked in by contract might improve project economics enough to persuade producers to build a pipeline. In 1998, the Legislature authorized negotiations based on that premise, reinforcing the idea that state fiscal concessions could unlock Alaska’s gas potential.
Ten years later, in a gas fiscal contract negotiated with the producers by the Murkowski administration, the state conceded to so many producer demands that the same consultant who initiated the fiscal contract idea warned that the state had gone too far and there was “absolutely no need to treat Alaska as a banana republic in order to secure the gas line.” Legislators who withstood intense political pressure and refused to approve the contract protected Alaska from a deal that could have cost the state more than it returned.
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In 2014, the Parnell administration offered the producers concessions similar to the 2006 contract to advance a liquefied natural gas project, Alaska LNG. Under the agreement, the producers owned 75% of the project and the state owned 25%. The producers helped fund early planning efforts, but changing markets led the companies to withdraw in 2016, leaving the state-owned Alaska Gasline Development Corp. to carry the entire project with the backing of state funds in the hundreds of millions.
Also in 2014, the administration negotiated an arrangement with developer TransCanada Alaska, where TransCanada owned most of the state’s 25% share of the project. TransCanada agreed to pay development costs associated with the state’s share. The state committed to repay the state’s share of TransCanada’s costs with 7.1% interest if the project failed to advance. In 2015, Alaska paid $65 million to exit the deal.
For today’s version of Alaska LNG, AGDC entered a confidential ownership agreement giving private developer Glenfarne 75% of the entire project and AGDC 25%, with Glenfarne funding development costs, including the state’s share, through to the project’s go-or-no-go decision. Given the payback provision in the TransCanada agreement, a key question now is whether the AGDC-Glenfarne agreement contains similar risks for the state.
Gas supply is another unresolved issue. Historically, North Slope gas producers showed little interest in supporting a pipeline they did not own. Today, they have confidential gas supply agreements with Glenfarne, leaving unknown whether their supply commitments are contingent on the sort of fiscal concessions they previously sought from the state.
Alaska’s gas is a public resource. AGDC is funded with public dollars. Alaskans will be impacted by AGDC’s decisions. Prior gas projects had flaws, but their terms were public and subject to legislative review and approval. Under a 2013 law, important details of the current project can remain confidential even as lawmakers are asked to grant major tax relief. That leaves them making a generational decision without knowing the full scope of state commitments and costs.
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Legislators are right to insist on getting the information needed to protect Alaskans’ interests. As in the past, caution is Alaska’s best protection against a bad deal.
Lisa Weissler is a retired state of Alaska oil and gas attorney and former Alaska legislative staffer. Much of her career involved advising Alaska lawmakers on natural resource and oil and gas issues, including natural gas pipeline project proposals. More recently, Weissler authored the book “Capitol Crude: The Impact of Oil on Alaska Politics,” which includes a comprehensive history of previous attempts to transport state natural gas from the North Slope.
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A highly anticipated oil lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Friday generated $3.7 million after failing to attract interest from major drilling companies.
The muted response to the sale in ANWR’s coastal plain was a rebuke to the Trump administration, which hyped the sale as part of its energy dominance agenda. The sale followed earlier, successful lease sales in Alaska and New Mexico that showed signs the oil industry remains largely interested in drilling on public lands.
The sale drew nine bids on five tracts, and the total sum of winning bids for the sale was $3.74 million, of which half goes to the state of Alaska. The bidders were Hex Energy and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. AIDEA is an independently governed public corporation.
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“Today’s sale featured multiple bidders and competing bids on multiple tracts, resulting in millions of dollars in new revenue for the American people and for the state of Alaska,” Kevin Pendergast, state director for the Bureau of Land Management in Alaska, said at the sale.
Note: Map shows the area with a shake intensity of 3 or greater, which U.S.G.S. defines as “weak,” though the earthquake may be felt outside the areas shown. All times on the map are Philippine time.The New York Times
A major, 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck in the Celebes Sea near the Philippines on Monday, raising the possibility of a tsunami for the country’s coastlines, according to United States monitoring agencies.
A tsunami advisory has also been issued for Guam, according to the U.S. Tsunami Warning System. There was no threat to the Pacific coastlines of the United States and Canada, the agency said.
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The temblor happened at 7:37 a.m. Philippine time about 15 miles southwest of Burias, Philippines, data from the U.S. Geological Survey shows.
Tsunamis are a series of long waves caused by a large and sudden displacement of water in the ocean, usually from a large earthquake on or below the ocean floor. Tsunamis radiate in all directions from the epicenter and can cause dangerous coastal flooding and powerful currents that can last for hours or days.
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Experts warn that just before a tsunami hits shore, seawater can first be drawn out to sea — exposing large swaths of beach and giving people along the water a false sense that a coast is safe.
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Aftershocks detected
Subsequent quakes have been reported in the same area. Such temblors are typically aftershocks caused by minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.
Quakes and aftershocks within 100 miles
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Aftershocks can occur days, weeks or even years after the first earthquake. These events can be of equal or larger magnitude to the initial earthquake, and they can continue to affect already damaged locations.
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When quakes and aftershocks occurred
All times are Philippine time.The New York Times
As more information becomes available, officials may update, add or cancel tsunami alerts and revise the earthquake’s reported magnitude. Additional information collected about the earthquake may also prompt U.S.G.S. scientists to update the shake-severity map.
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Sources: United States Geological Survey (epicenter, aftershocks, shake intensity); LandScan via Oak Ridge National Laboratory (population density) | Notes: Shaking categories are based on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale. When aftershock data is available, the corresponding maps and charts include earthquakes within 100 miles and seven days of the initial quake. All times above are Philippine time. Shake data is as of Sunday, June 7 at 7:56 p.m. Eastern. Aftershocks data is as of Sunday, June 7 at 9:38 p.m. Eastern.
(Anchorage) Twenty Alaska educators will hit the road June 7-12, 2026, for an exciting trip across the Last Frontier. Alaska Resource Education’s Natural Resource Management Teacher Externship takes teachers on a trip across Alaska to see the state’s natural resource sites and training locations firsthand.
“The natural resource industry is a big part of Alaska but unless you work within the industry, you’ve probably never had the opportunity to see it up close,” says Beki Toussaint, ARE’s executive director. “The NRM Teacher Externship allows educators to gain important insight into these industries and the many careers within them.”
The externship is also an opportunity for educators to learn how to implement ARE’s curriculum in the classroom. ARE’s curriculum is designed for grades K-12 and aligned with Alaska State Standards.
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“Alaska students are the future of our great state. Our educators are the ones who inspire them and help them unlock what comes next. By investing in our educators, we’re investing in our students,” says Toussaint.
During the week-long trip, educators will visit industry sites including the North Slope, Chena Hot Springs, Kinross Fort Knox Gold Mine and Usibelli Coal Mine. The group will also visit training locations like the Pipeline Training Center and the UAF Community and Technical College. New this year, teachers are taking a private tour of the Mining Hall of Fame followed by a reception with community members.
“Many educators have spent their entire careers in education and have never worked in the trades or had the opportunity to learn how apprenticeships and industry training programs operate. By visiting the mines and speaking directly with industry leaders, my fellow educators and I will gain valuable firsthand knowledge that we can share with our students and communities. As a result, we become ambassadors for both educational opportunities and the industries that help sustain Alaska’s economy and communities.” said Keith Hodson, Anchorage educator.
Teachers from across the state will attend, including educators from Galena, Juneau, Hydaburg, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Soldotna, North Pole, Eagle River, Point Hope and Prince of Wales Island. The NRM Teacher Externship is certified through the University of Alaska as a 500-level course. Successful completion will earn educators three continuing education credits.
ARE is able to offer programs like this due to generous donations from our supporters like, innovation visionary sponsors, Jim & Vicki Jansen Foundation and a partnership grant through the Anchorage School District.
