A significant court ruling has reaffirmed what Alaska has long argued: once federal lands receive tentative approval for conveyance to the State, they belong to Alaska.
Judge allows federal land transfer to state that will support Ambler Road and Alaska LNG
Alex DeMarban, Anchorage Daily News, July 27, 2026
A federal judge last week rejected a bid by conservation groups to stop the Trump administration from conveying land to Alaska to support development of the 200-mile Ambler Road that could open up access for mining in a remote Arctic region.
Alaska U.S. District Judge Aaron Peterson on Friday dismissed portions of the lawsuit, denying the request for a preliminary injunction and removing a legal cloud over the 1.4-million-acre land transfer, tentatively approved by the Interior Department in May.
The state has said the land transfer could also support the proposed Alaska LNG megaproject that seeks to deliver North Slope gas to Asian countries and Alaskans. Conservation groups argue that state control of the land removes federal protections for subsistence hunting and reduce environmental safeguards as mining takes place and projects are developed.
The land lies along the Dalton Highway near Coldfoot north of the Yukon River, where part of the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline passes. It’s part of the Dalton Utility Corridor and includes the route that would host the Alaska LNG pipeline, if it is built.
“Right now, LNG import prices are right around $22 per MCF,” he said. “What we’re paying today is $10.80. So that is not an economically sustainable way to move forward as a state.”
Southcentral Alaska gas utility says bills likely to rise amid supply shortage
Wesley Early, Alaska Public Media, July 28, 2026
Southcentral Alaska residents will likely see costlier home heating bills for the next few winters, as the region’s primary gas utility, Enstar, says nearby Cook Inlet has become a less reliable source of gas.
“We are going to have a problem with deliverability from gas supply out of the Cook Inlet for the next couple years,” Enstar President and CEO John Sims said at a press conference Tuesday at Anchorage City Hall.
The rates consumers pay for gas – and how available gas will be – will largely be determined by how cold it gets this winter, Sims said.
“If we have a winter like we did last year, we are going to have significant challenges and likely see rolling blackouts,” he said.
There is little interest from energy companies to expand production in Cook Inlet, and Enstar has already had to turn away new, large-scale customers to focus on supplying existing ratepayers, Sims said.
The utility is working on a plan to import liquefied natural gas – which is measured in thousands of cubic feet, or MCF – but that’s much more expensive, Sims said.
“Right now, LNG import prices are right around $22 per MCF,” he said. “What we’re paying today is $10.80. So that is not an economically sustainable way to move forward as a state.”
Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance said the impact from high energy costs won’t just be felt by households.
“For local businesses, higher energy costs squeeze profits and threaten jobs,” LaFrance said. “And for the municipality, higher energy bills strain our operating costs, putting pressure on our budget, which impacts municipal service delivery and our taxpayers.”
Sims, LaFrance, and other local stakeholders say they’re pushing the Alaska Legislature to finalize a plan to kick off construction of the Alaska LNG pipeline project to help offset the dwindling gas supply.
Alaska is seeing a resurgence in oil development as Japan and other nations heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil look to the northernmost U.S. state as part of efforts to diversify their energy sources.
Alaska sees oil resurgence as Japan, others look to US state amid war
The Mainichi (Japan’s Daily Newspaper since 1922), July 28, 2026
Japan’s need to secure alternative oil supplies has gained urgency during the U.S. war against Iran, after Tehran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a major waterway for global energy shipments.
The monthslong closure and the continuing uncertainty over who should control the strait have raised significant concerns over stable supplies of crude oil to Japan and other resource-poor countries.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expressed hope during her meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington in March that the two countries will work together to expand the production of U.S.-sourced energy.
Trump at the time called Japan a “tremendous purchaser” of oil and gas from the United States, “in particular Alaska,” acknowledging the shorter shipping route across the Pacific.
A tanker carrying Alaskan crude oil arrived at a refinery near Tokyo on June 7, marking the first shipment from Alaska to Japan since the start of the U.S.-Iran conflict in February.
