Oil production in Alaska, U.S. 1980-2021
Oil producers extracted around 164 million barrels of crude oil from Alaska in 2021. Between 1980 and 2021, Alaska's crude oil production volume declined by more than half. Alaska's proved oil reserves amounted to 3.13 billion barrels as of 2021.
In 2017, the U.S. government implemented a law that allowed parts of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be leased for oil drilling in a bid to support tax cuts for corporations. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the coastal plain area up for oil leases could hold close to 16 billion barrels of oil. Despite concerns from environmentalists and Native Alaskan tribes questioning the necessity of establishing even more oilfields, a court ruling in early January 2021 allowed for lease sale to proceed.
In 2017, the U.S. government implemented a law that allowed parts of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be leased for oil drilling in a bid to support tax cuts for corporations. The U.S. Geological Survey estimates the coastal plain area up for oil leases could hold close to 16 billion barrels of oil. Despite concerns from environmentalists and Native Alaskan tribes questioning the necessity of establishing even more oilfields, a court ruling in early January 2021 allowed for lease sale to proceed.
