By Rich Heidorn Jr.
Alaska, with existing wells drying up and Congress blocking exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, has fallen into third place among oil-producing states. Alaska’s production in March fell behind that of North Dakota, whose output has surged thanks to its newly exploited shale oil reserves.
The CHART OF THE DAY shows that Alaska’s crude oil production has declined 72 percent since peaking in 1988, when it briefly topped Texas as the leading producer among the states. The chart also shows that Texas’s production has declined by 43 percent since the federal government started recording output by state in 1981.
Rich Heidorn Jr., a Bloomberg Government energy analyst, has been writing about energy and government for more than 25 years. He worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, where he won awards for investigative and business reporting. After earning an MBA, he served as general manager of an Internet startup serving electric and natural gas traders. He also worked as an investigator and analyst for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
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