Interior disburses Alaska energy revenues

Alan Bailey

Petroleum News

The U.S. Department of the Interior has disbursed $35 million in federal energy revenues to Alaska for fiscal year 2018, the department has announced.

That represents a $23-million increase over last year. Interior collects oil and gas revenues from federal land such as the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska in the form of bonus bids and rents for land leasing, and from royalties on oil and gas production.

In the case of NPR-A, for example, 50 percent of the revenues are disbursed to the State of Alaska - this money has to be used for designated purposes, rather than going into the state’s general fund. Under federal and state laws the funds are used for a variety of purposes, in particular to help finance projects conducted by North Slope communities impacted by NPR-A oil and gas activities.

In total, for the entire United States, Interior disbursed $8.93 billion in energy revenues for fiscal year 2018, an increase of nearly $1.82 billion from the previous year.

Interior attributes the increase to the rising price of oil and rising oil production. The agency also credits expedited permitting, streamlined regulations, and stepped up oil and gas demand for the increase. “President Trump’s energy dominance strategy is paying off and local communities across America are the beneficiaries,” said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. “Trump administration policies like reforming and reducing regulatory burdens and broadening access to the nation’s oil, gas and coal resources have made America the largest oil and gas producer in the world.”