The gap between the price of Brent crude and North Slope crude ‘may be the highest value in history’
Amid Iran war, Alaska’s oil is selling with an extra premium on global markets
James Brooks, Alaska Beacon, May 7, 2026
The first month of the American war against Iran caused crude oil prices to skyrocket around the world, and the price of Alaska’s oil has risen particularly far.
That rise is making extra millions of dollars available for state services and the Permanent Fund dividend, even as it squeezes the finances of individual Alaskans.
In figures newly compiled by the Alaska Department of Revenue, the average price of a barrel of Alaska North Slope crude was $111.17 in April.
That’s $8.70 higher than the average price of a barrel of Brent crude, a standard based on oil extracted from Europe’s North Sea. It was also $13.11 per barrel higher than the average price of West Texas Intermediate, a standard based on oil from America’s second-largest state.
“The differential is the largest monthly value since the year 2000 and may be the highest value in history,” said the Department of Revenue, referring to the gap between Brent and North Slope crude.
“The large premium is due to a tightness in the Pacific basin oil market, where ANS is traded. “Most mid-east crude oil is supply constrained and cannot reach major importers like China, Japan, India, and South Korea,” the department said by email. “Uncertainty about shipping and delivery is incentivizing refiners to pay a premium for available crude that does not transit areas with substantial security risks. Crude grades from the Americas are the safest option. Brent primarily trades in the Atlantic basin, where the impacts from the Iran war are not quite as pronounced on a barrel for barrel basis.”
The premium now being paid for Alaska crude will have a significant impact if it continues for months.
Each dollar increase in the average annual price of a barrel of ANS crude is worth roughly $30 million. The exact value varies because the state collects different amounts of money at different price levels.
Crews mobilized to gather data for 211-mile mine access corridor.
AIDEA advances Ambler Road field program
Shane Lasley, North of 60 Mining News, May 4, 2026
With permits for the Ambler Road reinstated, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) has launched a 2026 field program to advance design and construction planning for the proposed 211-mile access to one of the richest undeveloped copper districts.
Fieldwork along the corridor will be carried out by crews from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, HDR Engineering Inc., and Qayaq Construction LLC, an Alaska Native-owned company that specializes in building roads, airports, and other infrastructure.
According to AIDEA, geotechnical, hydrological, permafrost, and fish habitat data collected during the program will help refine engineering design, environmental review, and overall project planning.
“This work is critical to reducing uncertainty around major cost drivers and advancing design toward construction-ready plans,” said Jeff San Juan, infrastructure development program manager at AIDEA. “Each field data point improves our understanding of the corridor and helps reduce data gaps, and uncertainty.”
With AIDEA collecting the data needed to build the road, Ambler Metals LLC has applied for the federal permits to develop and operate Arctic, the first mine in the district.
This mine depends on the Ambler Road to transport concentrates to market, while those shipments are expected to underpin the road’s economic viability.
Development of the road and Arctic mine is expected to help unlock the broader district, which hosts more than 30 known deposits enriched in copper, zinc, silver, germanium, and other critical minerals.
AIDEA emphasized the importance of local hire during the 2026 Ambler Road corridor data collection program. PJ Simon, the first chief of Allakaket, a village about 45 miles south of the Ambler Road corridor, says the job opportunities offered by this program, and the future development of the road and mines in the district, are unmatched.
“Above all else, standing on your own two feet to succeed and having gainful employment builds character, confidence, disposable income, and future retirement,” he said. “Qayak Construction has taken the opportunity to provide gainful employment with Allakaket Tribal members. This is the direct benefit of responsible resource development and extraction for Ambler Access Project.”
Shell CEO says oil market is short nearly 1 billion barrels due to Iran war, and the hole deepens every day – Shell CEO Wael Sawan joins Chevron CEO Mike Wirth in telling the truth about the massive hole that’s being dug in the global oil supply system as the Iran Conflict lingers on. It’s an outcome I warned at Forbes would be likely to come about way back in mid-March, and nothing has changed since.
Key Excerpt:
The oil market faces a shortage of nearly 1 billion barrels that will only get worse every day the conflict in the Middle East drags on, Shell CEO Wael Sawan told investors Thursday.
“The hard facts are we have dug ourselves a hole of close to a billion barrels of crude shortage at the moment, either because of locked in barrels or unproduced barrels,” Sawan said during the London-headquartered oil producer’s first-quarter earnings call.
“And of course, that hole is deepening every single day, so the journey back will be a long one,” Sawan said.
To put that number in context, the entire world consumes about 100 million barrels of oil every day, according to data from OPEC.
Halliburton also estimates that oil production lost due to the war is trending toward a billion barrels, CEO Jeffrey Miller said on the oil field service company’s April 21 earnings call.
“Recovery of oil and gas production and inventories will not be a quick or simple process,” Miller said.
From David Blackmon’s 4 Big Energy Stories, May 8, 2029