The renewed focus on energy security — and the acknowledgment that the world will continue to rely on hydrocarbons for decades to come — may be breathing new life into an often-overlooked U.S. production area: Alaska’s North Slope. The state’s crude oil output is down to its lowest level since before the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) came online in 1977. But now federal regulators are moving toward final approval for ConocoPhillips’s $8 billion Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve, and Australia’s Santos Ltd. and Spain’s Repsol have taken a final investment decision (FID) on the $2.6 billion first phase of their Pikka project between Willow and Prudhoe Bay. In today’s RBN blog, we discuss recent hydrocarbon-related developments in America’s Last Frontier.
As we said in The End?, our most recent blog on Alaskan crude oil, it’s been a tough few years — some would say 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 completion of the 800-mile TAPS pipeline from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez, AK, in 1977, Alaska North Slope (ANS) production took off, and by 1988, when Alaska’s output peaked at more than 2 MMb/d, the state not only accounted for one-quarter of total U.S. crude oil output (blue layer in Figure 1), but it also briefly knocked Texas off its perch as the #1 oil-producing state. Alaskan oil didn’t give the U.S. “energy independence” –– a rallying cry in the Ford, Carter and Reagan years –– but it sure helped.
Canadian crude output is rising, requiring new export routes. As traditional pathways face constraints, the U.S. Rockies—especially the Guernsey, WY hub—are emerging as key corridors for moving Canadian heavy crude to downstream markets, including the Gulf Coast.
The picture turned gloomy, though. By 1995, Alaskan crude production had fallen to less than 1.5 MMb/d and by 2000 it was down to less than 1 MMb/d. The slide didn’t end there. Through the mid-2010s, production was hovering around 500 Mb/d, and lately it’s been averaging less than 450 Mb/d — or only about 4% of total U.S. output.
Figure 1. Alaska Crude Oil Production. Source: EIA
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About the song
“Keep Holding On” was written by Avril Lavigne and Lukasz Gottwald (Dr. Luke). It appears as the 12th song on Avril Lavigne's third studio album, The Best Damn Thing, released in April 2007. The song appeared earlier as the 15th song on Eragon: Music from the Motion Picture, released in December 2006. “Keep Holding On” was the only single released from the soundtrack album. Produced by Dr. Luke and released in November 2006, it went to #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart and has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Personnel on the record were: Avril Lavigne (vocals), Lukasz Gottwald (guitars, bass, piano), Steve Wolf (drums, percussion), and Leon Pendarvis (strings).
The Best Damn Thing was recorded between August 2006 and January 2007 and produced by Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke, Butch Walker and Deryck Whibley. Released in April 2007, it went to #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart and has been certified 2x Platinum by the RIAA. In addition to the earlier release of “Keep Holding On,” four singles were released from the LP.
Avril Lavigne is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She signed her first record deal with Arista Records when she was 16. Lavigne is considered a key figure in the development of pop/punk music in the early 2000s. She has released seven studio albums, one live album, nine EPs and 32 singles. She has won seven ASCAP Awards, one Ivor Novello Award, one MTV Video Music Award, and six World Music Awards. In addition to her music career, Lavigne has appeared in a few television programs and motion pictures. In 2008, she launched her clothing line, Abbey Dawn, and in 2009 she released her first fragrance, Black Star. She has released two other fragrances since. She continues to record and tour and started a new tour in South America earlier this week. She was scheduled to sing last night in São Paulo, Brazil, and to appear Friday night in Rio de Janeiro.
Comments
Alaska badly needs both of these projects. Both could have been in production by now but for the green intervenors who aren't going away and are intent on delaying or preventing all resource development in Alaska. The dark money that funds the green intervenors comes from where?