Alaska loses lawsuit that challenged the western boundary of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
James Brooks, Alaska Beacon, September 25, 2025
The federal court decision may end an 11 year legal dispute and could have significant implications for state oil and gas revenue.
A U.S. District Court judge in Anchorage has ruled against the state of Alaska in an 11-year-old legal dispute that has significant implications for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and state finances.
On Wednesday, Judge Sharon Gleason ruled that laws and regulations setting the western border of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge are “ambiguous,” but federal regulators made a reasonable decision when they declared the border to be the western bank of the North Slope’s Staines River, rather than on the western bank of the Canning River.
There are 20,000 acres of potentially oil-rich land between the two waterways, and the state of Alaska had sought ownership of the area — sited just to the east of the Prudhoe Bay oil field — for oil and gas drilling.
While the federal government is now advancing plans for oil and gas leasing in the disputed area, the decision to keep it under federal control means that if oil and gas are discovered there, the state of Alaska would receive far less revenue than it would if it were state-owned land.
Wright: DOE likely to offer Alaska LNG credit support
Zack Coleman, Politico Pro, September 24, 2025
The Trump administration is exploring ways to bring the Alaska project to fruition given its struggles to attract funding.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Wednesday the Trump administration will “probably” offer federal government credit support to a proposed massive liquefied natural gas pipeline project in Alaska.
Such a move would ratchet up the U.S. government’s already deep involvement in getting the Alaska LNG project started despite its struggles to attract private-sector investors. The 800-mile $44 billion pipeline would bring natural gas from Alaska’s North Slope south to a proposed facility to process it into LNG for Asian markets.
“I’m sure it’ll likely be some mix of American companies, Asian companies,” Wright said of the potential financiers during a New York City press conference. “The U.S. government will probably support it a little bit, from my department, with credit support or whatever.”
Wright called the project an economic and geopolitical priority for Trump, noting it would supply allies in East Asia with energy. He said the “prospects for Alaska LNG look quite strong,” predicting construction could begin in about 12 months.
Tectonic is building momentum at Flat
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, September 25, 2025
Continues drilling deep into the 2025 season; focuses on an inaugural gold resource for Chicken Mountain.
Tectonic Metals Inc. Sept. 25 announced that it is in the midst of a phase-two 2025 drill program at Flat focused on defining and expanding the extensive gold mineralization outlined so far on this project in an area of Southwest Alaska that has produced more than 1.4 million ounces of placer gold.
Lying about 25 miles (40 kilometers) north of the 39-million-ounce Donlin Gold project, Flat is a 99,840-acre package of predominantly Alaska Native land owned by Doyon Ltd. in the Flat Mining District, the third richest gold mining jurisdiction in Alaska.
Tectonic’s current drilling is focused on Chicken Mountain, a roughly four-by-3.7-mile geophysical and geochemical anomaly that is drained by five creeks that have produced nearly 1 million oz of placer gold.
So far, 87 holes have been drilled along a roughly 1.9-mile stretch of the Chicken Mountain intrusion, all of which have cut gold mineralization.
Scale and innovation are essential to staying competitive in the oil and natural gas industry, particularly in unconventional plays, according to ConocoPhillips CEO Ryan Lance. In a wide-ranging interview, Lance said OPEC+ will capture market share as US shale output plateaus and pointed to LNG and conventional projects in Alaska, Canada, Brazil, Guiana and beyond as critical for meeting future demand and supporting ConocoPhillips’ long-term growth. He also highlighted how operational efficiencies, such as improving the ratio of frack spreads to rig lines, enable the company to manage capital intensity and offset natural production declines.
| Full Story: Energy Intelligence (9/25) |
From Our Friends at the American Petroleum Institute