Rudy Brueggemann Alaska Oil Industry Photos Picture Page

Oil: Real Wealth and Real Power

Nothing changed Alaska more than the development of the oil and gas industry in the state in the 1970s. Not the Klondike Gold Rush, not the the crossing by Native peoples across the Beringia Land Bridge thousands of years ago. Nothing. Oil made Alaska the modern state it is. Today, about four-fifths of the state's revenues are generated by energy production, mostly from royalties paid on oil drilled on the North Slope. The crude is shipped down the Trans Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) from the North Slope to Valdez, where it is then shipped to refineries. The legacy of big oil can be felt in every facet in Alaska's political, economic, and cultural life.

For the average Alaskan, the energy industry's presence means good jobs and a strong economy, and the vast majority of residents of this state strongly support the industry and its exploration and development activities. The industry and its supporters are always quick to say they are good stewards of the environment and take great care to leave a small footprint. So, it is no suprise that the majority of Alaskans also support opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to development. Two big energy issues now face the state: will the refuge be opened for oil development by federal enabling legislation in the fall of 2005 and will the state and the big North Slope producers (ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, BP) agree to terms to begin building a $20 billion natural gas pipeline from the North Slope to Canada.

For green-leaning critics of the country's fossil-fuel addiction, however, Alaska's future energy developments signal everything that is wrong with the country's energy policies. Critics say the development symbolizes the subordination of decision-making to multinational oil firms, who, in the critics' eyes, dictate policy via an industry-friendly administration and Congress. Regardless of where you stand, there's no question that Alaska's oil and gas companies are the big grizzlies in this state.

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