AOGA

Facts and Figures

Oil and Gas has Been Good to Alaska, Providing Jobs and Revenue

 •  The petroleum industry supports one-third of all Alaska jobs, generating 110,000 jobs throughout the state.

•  For future generations, a portion of the state’s oil revenues was set aside in 1976. Now the Alaska Permanent Fund distributes an annual dividend to every eligible Alaskan.

•  Since the annual dividend started being distributed in 1982, a family of four has received a total of $128,765.

•  As of August 2011, the Alaska Permanent Fund was worth approximately $38 billion.

•  A family of four received an estimated $22,000 in value from the oil industry in 2010.

•  The State of Alaska has collected $157 billion (in today’s dollars) from oil since 1959.

•  Oil and gas revenues continue to dominate the state’s unrestricted revenue stream, accounting for 89 percent, or just over $6 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2010.

•  Even with falling production, the state estimates 90 percent of its revenue will continue to come from the oil and gas industry.

 Alaska has Oil – but Higher Taxes Leads to Less Produced

 •  Prudhoe Bay remains the largest oil field in North America, with four of the top 10 producing oil fields existing on the North Slope.

• Alaska’s waters are believed to contain more than 30 percent of the nation’s known recoverable offshore resources.

• Alaska’s oil and gas industry has produced more than 17 billion barrels of oil and 13 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

• The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is operating at only one-third of its capacity, and there has been a 39 percent decline in the past 10 years.

• Furthermore, production has dropped 68 percent since hitting a peak of 2 million barrels per day in 1988. It currently produces about 600,000 barrels per day. However, only one exploration well was drilled in 2011.

 Alaska is NOT Competitive

•  Alaska’s production only accounts for about 10 percent of the nation’s domestic production, sharp decline from prior years.  Between 1980-2000, Alaska accounted for 20 percent of the production.

•  North Dakota oil production could surpass Alaska’s production in three to four years.

•  In 10 years, the State of Alaska forecasts that 50 percent of Alaska’s oil will be from “new oil” – oil not currently in production.

•  In January 2010, Wood Mackenzie, a leading world energy industry research firm, ranked Alaska 117 out of 129 in terms of its global fiscal competitiveness.

•  To create jobs, more production and more investment, Alaska needs to change its production tax structure.