ExxonMobil won big at an Alaska oil lease sale. Months later, its bids are still in legal limbo.
Other companies also have their leases tied up in litigation from local and environmental groups.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 3, 2026
ENERGY & RESOURCES DESK
ENERGY & UTILITIES
Crucial accountability reporting on Alaska power grids, Cook Inlet gas supply, North Slope crude, and clean energy transitions.
Data center critics flood Alaska land managers with opposition to North Slope project
Hundreds of comments have been filed, with subject lines like "HELL NO! To ANY DATA CENTERS" and "NO AI".
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 3, 2026
Alaska governor's race survey: how much should companies pay in oil taxes?
We also ask what album candidates would bring if they were stranded on the remote Bering Sea island of St. Matthew.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 5, 2026
“You'd be crying at the pump”: This Alaska village's gas was $8.44 — before the Iran war
Gas and heating fuel prices in rural Alaska were already high. An impending spike from the Iran war could "wipe out" communities.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 2, 2026
Alaska development agency approves $190 million budget for Arctic refuge oil exploration, leasing
AIDEA intends to move ahead with geologic testing on its leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and to bid on new ones in an upcoming federal sale.
BY Max GrahamMay 14, 2026
A huge data center could rise on Alaska’s North Slope
The $500 million project could consume twice as much natural gas as urban Alaska’s grid.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 13, 2026
More Alaska crude flows to Asia as Strait of Hormuz stays shut
Two tankers have departed Valdez for Asia in recent weeks — the same number that shipped oil to Asia in all of 2025.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 11, 2026
The state of Alaska could spend nearly $200 million on oil exploration, leasing in Arctic refuge
Alaska’s economic development agency, AIDEA, wants to conduct geologic testing on its existing oil leases — and to bid on new ones — in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
BY Max GrahamMay 11, 2026
With gold prices still soaring, a major Alaska mine proposal is getting a new look
For years, some of Alaska’s largest mining proposals inched along, unable to attract big investment. Then the price of gold took off.
BY Max GrahamMay 4, 2026
With one of two wells drilled, Hilcorp to pull out of Yukon Flats
The wells was drilled on Indigenous-owned land, in a program that prompted sharp opposition from area tribes.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 1, 2026
Advocates decry lawmakers’ push to tighten regulators' deadline to review utility price hikes
Under a last-minute proposal from Anchorage Democratic Rep. Carolyn Hall, regulators would have nine months instead of 15 months to vet utility proposals.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 30, 2026
Alaska’s energy cliff isn’t coming. It’s already here.
The state’s gas shortage is hitting electricity consumers in Fairbanks and the Mat-Su, and will likely affect home heating prices, as well.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 27, 2026
A giant lease sale could launch a new era of oil on Alaska's North Slope
Two huge companies thought to have little interest in Alaska investment, Shell and ExxonMobil, spent millions to buy new leases on the North Slope — though drilling still faces obstacles.
BY Max GrahamMar 26, 2026
One of Alaska’s flagship mines soon could draw energy from the sun
Red Dog is racing to displace costly diesel with solar power before federal tax credits expire.
BY Max GrahamMar 19, 2026
A major new Arctic oil field prompted a deal to protect caribou. Then Trump officials backed out.
In December, the Interior Department scrapped an agreement with the village of Nuiqsut to restrict oil development near important caribou grounds. Now, the village is suing.
BY Max GrahamFeb 17, 2026
ConocoPhillips says North Slope drilling will continue mostly as planned after rig collapse
The company said it will replace “The Beast” with another Doyon rig.
BY Max GrahamJan 26, 2026
Hilcorp chairman: We’re going to Venezuela
Two big players in Alaska’s oil industry say they’re keen on investing in post-Maduro Venezuela.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 10, 2026
Utilities say Alaska needs an LNG import terminal. Here’s how consumers could end up paying not for one, but two.
Planning for two separate projects is currently moving ahead.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 21, 2025
A feud is escalating over Big Oil’s plans to protect Prince William Sound from another spill
The city of Valdez and the owner of the trans-Alaska pipeline are locked in a dispute over environmental protections at the state’s crude oil shipping port.
BY Max GrahamSep 30, 2025
A small Texas firm is gearing up for a $150 million search for oil beneath the Arctic Ocean
Narwhal Exploration is one of three small, privately owned companies with offshore leases in West Harrison Bay, a promising but largely unexplored area once controlled by Shell.
BY Max GrahamSep 5, 2025
With gas crunch looming, Alaska's utilities won’t get big wind before tax credits expire. Here’s why.
One utility leader points to private developers and the Trump tax bill. But advocates say utilities share some of the blame.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 29, 2025
Anchorage electricity prices could go up again. Blame the warm winter.
Anchorage utility executives say that a mild winter translated into lower electricity sales — and a hole in their budget.
BY Nathaniel HerzJul 18, 2025
In Canada’s ‘Silicon Valley’ of mining, speculators power a hunt for Alaska’s minerals
Vancouver, British Columbia, home to dozens of companies searching the world for minerals, has a special interest in the northernmost U.S. state.
BY Max GrahamJun 17, 2025
Offshore in Cook Inlet, a 'silent economy' hunts for gas to keep Alaska running
Northern Journal helicoptered out to the offshore rig drilling for the increasingly scarce natural gas that powers urban Alaska.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 12, 2025
Amid gas crunch, Alaska could revoke leases from a company whose drilling has stalled
The Dunleavy administration is threatening to strip Texas-based BlueCrest Energy of oil and gas leases near Anchorage, saying it’s failed to advance development that could delay urban Alaska's impending gas shortage.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 6, 2025
New Alaska Bitcoin mine would use as much power as the state’s largest coal plant produces
The startup planning the operation near the North Slope oil fields would power its computers not with coal but with another fossil fuel: natural gas that’s currently going unused.
BY Nathaniel HerzJun 1, 2025
Alaska utility execs to lawmakers: Let’s revive Susitna hydroelectric megaproject
The request by leaders of the state’s urban utilities faces opposition from some advocates, who say wind power is a more politically and economically realistic bet than the multi-billion-dollar Susitna development.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 15, 2025
Northern Journal news and a side of Interesting Stuff
The podcast is back! And other news.
BY Nathaniel HerzMay 7, 2025
A key player in moving Interior Alaska off fossil fuels? Multibillion-dollar mining corporations.
The mining industry’s global quest for cheaper, cleaner power could change how thousands of Alaskans get electricity.
BY Max GrahamApr 29, 2025
Above the Yukon River, on Native land, Hilcorp is set to drill for oil this summer
Hilcorp has signed oil leases with Doyon, the Indigenous-owned corporation for Interior Alaska, which hopes the drilling effort will yield the state’s next big oil field. But there’s fierce opposition from local tribes.
BY Nathaniel HerzApr 7, 2025
In Norway, a fossil fuel feud at a celebration of the national sport
A standoff between World Championships organizers and Norwegian climate advocates is threatening to mar an otherwise impeccably executed event.
BY Nathaniel HerzMar 4, 2025
Juneau’s push to expand renewable power could boost the region’s mines — or cost them
Amid proposals to electrify Juneau’s cruise docks and build a new hydroelectric plant, one of the area’s major mines has a lot to gain. The other has more to lose.
BY Max GrahamFeb 19, 2025
Rolling blackouts could loom for urban Alaska as natural gas crunch intensifies
Homer Electric Association, which serves much of the Kenai Peninsula, recently announced that it secured an “interruptible” gas agreement for the next year — meaning that it could experience a shortfall of the fuel during a cold snap.
BY Nathaniel HerzJan 21, 2025
Regulators, advocates warn of utility inaction as Alaska gas shortfall looms
“The window for making decisions is closing,” said one top regulator. “If things just sort of slide and there’s no leadership, and we’re in the same position 12 months from now, we are looking at a dire, dire, situation. And people should get angry.”
BY Nathaniel HerzDec 24, 2024
Arctic Bitcoin? Hilcorp, tech firm aim to test North Slope data center
A Hilcorp oil field in Alaska’s Arctic is set to host a tech firm that wants to use natural gas-fired power to mine digital currency.
BY Nathaniel HerzNov 18, 2024
Interesting stuff: Dunleavy attends Trump fundraiser, solar for Alaska airports, and a company wants $50 million in state loans for natural gas drilling
Also: A renewable energy advocacy group says a recent ruling by state regulators is an "abdication" of their responsibility, and a contested election for leadership of Alaska's largest statewide Native organization.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 19, 2024
Data centers face growing opposition Outside. Gov. Mike Dunleavy wants them in Alaska.
The Republican governor says Alaska has in excess what the data industry is finding increasingly scarce Outside: land and water, if not cheap electricity. He also says new data centers would boost the case for Alaska’s proposed natural gas pipeline.
BY Nathaniel HerzOct 16, 2024
Interesting Stuff: How Alaska regulators ignored a gas conservation scheme. And: What happened to those Kodiak king salmon?
The Regulatory Commission of Alaska rejected a proposal to increase electricity rates for heavier users. And: updates on the Kodiak king salmon bycatch incident and the future of Peter Pan Seafood.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 30, 2024
In latest sign of North Slope’s evolution, privately owned Texas company targets Chevron’s Alaska assets
A little known Texas company is buying a share of a key North Slope pipeline and asked to buy all of Chevron's oil interests in the region — reviving questions about the Alaska oil industry’s capacity to decommission aging infrastructure and pay damages in the event of a spill.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 16, 2024
In Anchorage, a coal-inspired startup could help pave the path to wind and solar
Cache Energy has backing from energy company Halliburton and plans to test its technology in Kotzebue next year. It uses pellets derived from limestone to save wind and solar energy for periods when it’s dark or calm.
BY Nathaniel HerzSep 2, 2024
Small Cook Inlet producers say they need state government help before drilling for new natural gas
One company, Bluecrest, said it will need more support even after a state agency agreed to forgive some $7 million in loans. Another company, HEX, says it needs the state to agree to a royalty reduction before it will drill a well.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 26, 2024
Inside the “titanic” legal case that will help determine Alaska’s energy future: an analysis of what’s at stake
Northern Journal waded through hundreds of pages of written testimony and hours of recorded public hearings to explain how an Anchorage electric utility’s proposal to raise its rates could affect consumers — and the region’s scarce supply of natural gas.
BY Nathaniel HerzAug 8, 2024