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State Energy Profile - Alaska

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State Energy Profile for Alaska
Last Update: October 28, 2010
Next Update: November 4, 2010

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    Alaska Quick Facts

  • Excluding Federal offshore production, Alaska ranks second in the Nation in crude oil production.
  • Prudhoe Bay on Alaska’s North Slope is the highest yielding oil field in the United States, producing approximately 264,000 barrels per day.
  • The Trans-Alaska Pipeline can pump up to 740,000 barrels of crude oil per day, transporting crude oil from the frozen North Slope to the warm-water Port of Valdez, on Alaska’s southern coast.
  • Alaska has six oil refineries, most of which are “topping” plants.
  • Alaska’s electricity infrastructure differs from the lower 48 States in that most consumers are not linked to large interconnected grids through transmission and distribution lines. Rural communities rely primarily on diesel electric generators for power.
  • Plans are being discussed to develop two small nuclear facilities to help meet electricity demand in Alaska.




 

Overview

Resources and Consumption

Alaska has vast energy resources with major oil and gas reserves found in the Alaska North Slope (ANS) and Cook Inlet basins. The ANS contains 14 of the 100 largest oil fields in the United States, and five of the 100 largest natural gas fields. The North Slope’s Prudhoe Bay field is the largest oil field in the country, producing an average of 264,000 barrels per day. Substantial coal deposits are found in Alaska’s bituminous, subbituminous, and lignite coal basins. Alaska’s numerous rivers offer some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the Nation, and large swaths of the Alaskan coastline offer wind and geothermal energy potential. The oil and gas industry dominates the Alaskan economy, and production activities drive State energy demand. Although Alaska has a low absolute energy demand compared to the U.S. average, its per capita energy consumption is the highest in the country – more than three times the U.S. average.

Petroleum

Alaska is the second-ranked oil-producing State after Texas, when output from the Federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is excluded from the State totals. Nearly all of Alaska’s oil production takes place on the North Slope. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) transports crude oil from the frozen North Slope to the warm-water Port of Valdez, on Alaska’s southern coast. From Valdez, tankers ship the ANS crude oil primarily to refineries along the West Coast. Those refineries are designed to process the intermediate, sour (high-sulfur) crude oil from the ANS. Alaskan crude oil production has been in decline since 1988, when output peaked at over 2 million barrels per day. However, experts believe that large oil and gas reserves in the State remain untapped, and some have called for the Federal government to open more public lands, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, for oil exploration and drilling.

Demand for finished petroleum products in Alaska is low. Although Alaska has six refineries, most of them are “topping” plants that strip away lighter products from the TAPS heavy crude oil stream for internal refinery use. State motor gasoline demand is primarily met by refineries in Kenai and near Fairbanks. By a wide margin, Alaska has the highest per-capita jet fuel consumption in the United States.

Due to harsh weather conditions that persist throughout most of the year, Alaska’s oil infrastructure is particularly vulnerable to weather-related accidents and disruptions. The worst accident occurred in March 1989, when the tank vessel Exxon Valdez struck Bligh Reef and spilled 260,000 barrels of oil into the Prince William Sound.

Natural Gas

Alaska has substantial marketed natural gas production, most of which takes place in the Cook Inlet, where output is in decline. Although large volumes of natural gas are extracted during oil production on the ANS, this supply has no way of reaching consumption markets and is subsequently pumped back into the ground for repressurization or used as lease fuel to operate equipment at oil production facilities. It has not been considered commercially feasible to build a natural gas pipeline linking ANS natural gas with markets in the Lower 48 States, although two separate consortia have filed project applications with the State of Alaska.

Most of Alaska’s marketed natural gas is consumed at the production site as lease fuel or plant fuel. Only about one-fourth of Alaska’s marketed natural gas production is delivered to customers. Of these customers, the electric power sector is the largest. Since Alaskan natural gas is abundant and cheap, the State has attracted a petrochemicals industry that produces ammonia and urea fertilizer. In addition, the Kenai liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in the Cook Inlet exports LNG, primarily to Japan. Kenai is the only LNG export terminal in the United States.

Coal, Electricity, and Renewables

Alaska’s electricity infrastructure differs from that of the lower 48 States because most Alaskan consumers are not linked to large, interconnected grids through transmission and distribution lines. An interconnected grid exists in the populated areas from Fairbanks to south of Anchorage; however, that grid is isolated from those in Canada and the 48 contiguous States. Rural communities rely on their own power sources, almost exclusively using diesel electric generators.

Natural gas fuels almost three-fifths of Alaska’s electricity generation, and hydroelectric power supplies about one-fifth. Petroleum and coal each account for approximately one-tenth of net electricity generation. While Alaska does not currently produce energy from nuclear sources, plans are being considered for small nuclear reactors near Fairbanks and in Galena, a village on the Yukon River. More than 50 hydroelectric power plants supply Alaskan communities, and three of those plants are among the ten largest generators in the State. Alaska’s renewable energy sources also include a 200-kilowatt geothermal plant at Chena Hot Springs and 14 small wind energy projects with a total of about 3 megawatts of capacity. Alaskans also operate one of the Nation's largest fuel cell systems, in Anchorage, and the world's largest battery storage system.



Data

Economy
Population and Employment Alaska U.S. Rank Period
Population 0.7 million    47
2009
Civilian Labor Force 0.4 million    48
Sep-10
Per Capita Personal Income $44,395    9
2008
Industry Alaska U.S. Rank Period
Gross Domestic Product by State $47.9 billion    45 2008
Land in Farms 0.9 million acres    44
2007
Market Value of Agricultural Products Sold $0.1 billion    50
2007

 Prices
Petroleum Alaska U.S. Avg. Period
Domestic Crude Oil First Purchase $68.51/barrel (North Slope) $71.37/barrel Jul-10
No. 2 Heating Oil, Residential $2.88/gal $2.58/gal Jul-10 Click to see State rankings
  Regular Motor Gasoline Sold Through Retail Outlets (Excluding Taxes) $3.11/gal $2.23/gal Jul-10 Click to see State rankings
  State Tax Rate on Motor Gasoline
(other taxes may apply)
$0.08/gal $0.22/gal Jan-10
  No. 2 Diesel Fuel Sold Through Retail Outlets (Excluding Taxes) NA $2.38/gal Jul-10 Click to see State rankings
  State Tax Rate on On-Highway Diesel
(other taxes may apply)
$0.08/gal $0.23/gal Jan-10
Natural Gas Alaska U.S. Avg. Period
  Wellhead $7.39/thousand cu ft $7.96/thousand cu ft 2008
  City Gate $6.89/thousand cu ft $6.13/thousand cu ft Jul-10
  Residential $9.89/thousand cu ft $15.45/thousand cu ft Jul-10 Click to see State rankings
Coal Alaska U.S. Avg. Period
  Average Open Market Sales Price W $32.06/short ton 2008
  Delivered to Electric Power Sector W $ 2.27 /million Btu Jul-10
Electricity Alaska U.S. Avg. Period
  Residential 17.13 cents/kWh 12.01 cents/kWh Jul-10 Click to see State rankings
  Commercial 14.61 cents/kWh 10.70 cents/kWh Jul-10
  Industrial 13.81 cents/kWh 7.31 cents/kWh Jul-10
       

 Reserves & Supply
Reserves Alaska Share of U.S. Period
  Crude Oil 3,507 million barrels 18.3% 2008
  Dry Natural Gas 7,699 billion cu ft 3.1% 2008
  Natural Gas Liquids 312 million barrels 3.4% 2008
  Recoverable Coal at Producing Mines W W 2008
Rotary Rigs & Wells Alaska Share of U.S. Period
Rotary Rigs in Operation 8 0.7% 2009
Crude Oil Producing Wells 1,769 0.3% 2009
Natural Gas Producing Wells 261 0.1% 2008
Production Alaska Share of U.S. Period
  Total Energy 1,933 trillion Btu 2.6% 2008 Click to see State rankings
  Crude Oil 17,627 thousand barrels 10.5% May-10 Click to see State rankings
  Natural Gas - Marketed 398,442 million cu ft 1.9% 2008 Click to see State rankings
  Coal 1,477 thousand short tons NA 2008 Click to see State rankings
Capacity Alaska Share of U.S. Period
  Crude Oil Refinery Capacity (as of Jan. 1) 393,980 barrels/calendar day 2.3% 2010
  Electric Power Industry Net Summer Capability 1,995 MW 0.2% 2008
Net Electricity Generation Alaska Share of U.S. Period
  Total Net Electricity Generation 535 thousand MWh 0.1% Jul-10 Click to see State rankings
  Petroleum-Fired 71 thousand MWh 2.4% Jul-10
  Natural Gas-Fired 292 thousand MWh 0.3% Jul-10
  Coal-Fired 48 thousand MWh 0.0% Jul-10
  Nuclear Jul-10
  Hydroelectric 124 thousand MWh 0.5% Jul-10
  Other Renewables NM NA Jul-10
Stocks Alaska Share of U.S. Period
  Motor Gasoline (Excludes Pipelines) 693 thousand barrels 1.5% Jul-10
  Distillate Fuel Oil (Excludes Pipelines) 975 thousand barrels 0.7% Jul-10
  Natural Gas in Underground Storage Jul-10
  Petroleum Stocks at Electric Power Producers W W Jul-10
  Coal Stocks at Electric Power Producers W W Jul-10
Production Facilities Alaska
  Major Coal Mines None
  Petroleum Refineries BP Exploration Alaska Inc (Prudhoe Bay) • ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc (Prudhoe Bay) • Flint Hills Resources Alaska LLC (North Pole) • Petro Star Inc (North Pole) • Petro Star Inc (Valdez) • Tesoro Petroleum Corp (Kenai)
  Major Non-Nuclear Electricity Generating Plants Beluga (Chugach Electric Assn Inc) • George M Sullivan Generation Plant 2 (Anchorage Municipal Light and Power) • Southcentral Power Plant (Chugach Electric Assn Inc) • North Pole (Golden Valley Elec Assn Inc) • Bradley Lake (Homer Electric Assn Inc)
  Nuclear Power Plants None
       

 Distribution & Marketing
Distribution Centers Alaska
Oil Seaports/Oil Import Sites Anchorage • Valdez.
  Natural Gas Market Centers None
Major Pipelines Alaska
Crude Oil Alyeska • Cook Inlet • Kenai • Kuparuk • Milne Point
Petroleum Product None
Liquefied Petroleum Gases None
  Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines None
Fueling Stations Alaska Share of U.S. Period
Motor Gasoline 442 0.3% 2008
Liquefied Petroleum Gases 9 0.4% 2010
Compressed Natural Gas 1 0.1% 2010
Ethanol 0 0.0% 2010
Other Alternative Fuels 1 0.1% 2010
       

 Consumption

per Capita Alaska U.S. Rank Period
Total Energy 946 million Btu    2 2008 Click to see State rankings
by Source Alaska Share of U.S. Period
Total Energy 651 trillion Btu 0.7% 2008
Total Petroleum 49.1 million barrels 0.7% 2008
    Motor Gasoline 6.7 million barrels 0.2% 2008
    Distillate Fuel 12.9 million barrels 0.9% 2008
    Liquefied Petroleum Gases 0.3 million barrels 0.0% 2008
    Jet Fuel 23.8 million barrels 4.2% 2008
Natural Gas 341,895 million cu ft 1.5% 2008
Coal W W 2009
by End-Use Sector Alaska Share of U.S. Period
Residential 54,747 billion Btu 0.3% 2008
Commercial 63,278 billion Btu 0.3% 2008
Industrial 317,925 billion Btu 1.0% 2008
Transportation 214,808 billion Btu 0.8% 2008
for Electricity Generation Alaska Share of U.S. Period
Petroleum 123 thousand barrels 2.3% Jul-10
Natural Gas 3,308 million cu ft 0.4% Jul-10
Coal 41 thousand short tons 0.0% Jul-10
for Home Heating (share of households) Alaska U.S. Avg. Period
Natural Gas 46% 51.2% 2000
Fuel Oil 36% 9.0% 2000
Electricity 10% 30.3% 2000
Liquefied Petroleum Gases 2% 6.5% 2000
Other/None 6% 1.8% 2000
       

 Environment
Special Programs Alaska
Clean Cities Coalitions Arkansas
Alternative Fuels Alaska Share of U.S. Period
  Alternative-Fueled Vehicles in Use 2,379 0.3% 2008
Ethanol Plants 0 0.0% 2008
Ethanol Plant Capacity 0 million gal/year 0.0% 2008
Ethanol Consumption 495 thousand barrels 0.2% 2008
Electric Power Industry Emissions Alaska Share of U.S. Period
  Carbon Dioxide
4,366,541 metric tons 0.2% 2008 Click to see State rankings
  Sulfur Dioxide
3,525 metric tons 0.0% 2008
  Nitrogen Oxide
14,733 metric tons 0.4% 2008
       
     = No data reported.    * = Number less than 0.5 rounded to zero.    NA = Not available.    NM = Not meaningful due to large relative standard error or excessive percentage change.    W = Withheld to avoid disclosure of individual company data.
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Update on October 28, 2010
Preliminary statistics for September 2010:
• Civilian labor force
 

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