Last year, Alaska produced only 421 Mb/d of crude oil, barely one-fifth the more than 2 MMb/d that wells there were churning out back in 1988, when North Slope production peaked. It’s been a long, steady decline, but two new projects — one already producing and the other only weeks away from “first oil” — will add a combined 100 Mb/d once both are fully up and running. And Alaska’s biggest new project in years, ConocoPhillips’s massive Willow effort, will contribute another 180 Mb/d by 2030. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss the ongoing rebound in North Slope production and the prospects for even more growth going forward.
As we said five years ago in The End?, it’s been a challenging few decades for producers in the 49th state. Back in the 1970s and ’80s, Alaska was seen as the next big thing for U.S. crude oil production. With the 1977 completion of the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAPS) from Prudhoe Bay in the north to Valdez in the south, Alaska North Slope (ANS) production took off (blue line in Figure 1 below), and just 11 years later the state not only accounted for 25% of total U.S. crude oil output, it also briefly knocked Texas off its perch as the #1 oil-producing state. Alaska crude oil production was all downhill from there, however. By 1995, it had fallen to less than 1.5 MMb/d, and by 2000, it was below 1 MMb/d. The slide didn’t end there. Through the mid-2010s, production was hovering around 500 Mb/d, and so far in the 2020s it’s been averaging less than 450 Mb/d — or just over 3% of total U.S. output.
Figure 1. Alaska Crude Oil Production. Source: EIA
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About the song
“For the First Time (In a Long Time)” was written by R. J. Ritchie (Kid Rock) and Marlon Young and appears as the 12th song on Kid Rock’s eighth studio album, Born Free. The mid-tempo country song celebrates success and living free. Personnel on the record were: Kid Rock (vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar), Marlon Young (lead guitar), David Hildago (B-bender Telecaster), Matt Sweeney (electric rhythm guitar), Blake Mills (banjo), Justin Meidal-Johnson (bass), Benmont Tench (keyboards), Chad Smith (drums, percussion), and Lenny Castro (percussion).
Born Free was recorded between January and July 2010 at Sound City in Van Nuys, CA; Shangri-La in Malibu, CA; and Allen Roadhouse in Clarkston, MI. Produced by Rick Rubin, the album was released in November 2010 and went to #5 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart. It has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. It was Kid Rock’s first all-country album. Four singles were released from the LP.
Kid Rock (Robert James Ritchie) is an American singer, musician, rapper and songwriter from Detroit. He released his debut rap album, Grits Sandwiches for Breakfast, in 1990 on Jive Records. He has released 12 studio albums, a live album, two compilation albums, three EPs and 41 singles and has sold more than 35 million records worldwide. Kid Rock has won two American Music Awards, a BMI Pop Award, 11 Billboard Music Awards, three CMT Awards and a World Music Award. He has appeared in eight motion pictures and eight television shows. He continues to record and will began his U.S. Freedom 250 Tour in May.
"About the Song" -- written by Mickey McMahan , RBN Director of Musicology
