Alaska’s oil renaissance has arrived at the doorstep of an Iñupiaq village

image from: alaskabeacon.com

The Iñupiaq village of Nuiqsut has contended for decades with the westward expansion of oil development on Alaska’s North Slope.

Oil rigs have cropped up along the horizon, and industry roads now cut across the tundra just beyond the village.

The industry’s growth has been lucrative for Nuiqsut’s Indigenous-owned village corporation, Kuukpik, which owns land that’s coveted by multinational oil companies. But it also has provoked tensions among local leaders and some subsistence hunters and fishermen, who have objected to encroaching development.

Now, a proposal from one of the North Slope’s most prolific oil producers is driving a new conflict.

ConocoPhillips wants to drill wells and pump oil just two miles from the village, within clear view and potentially earshot of Nuiqsut’s center. The nearest existing drill site sits about five miles away.

Local leaders — even some who have historically supported and profited from oil production — say ConocoPhillips’ proposal is raising fundamental questions about the village’s relationship with the industry.

(READ MORE - alaskabeacon.com)

Trump administration declares war on Alaska 8(a) contracts

image from: ktoo.org

Sen. Dan Sullivan is racing on his “Team Dan” campaign website to post as many endorsements as he can from Alaska Native corporate leaders before they have a chance to reconsider.

Speed is of the essence for Team Dan because the Trump administration has just declared war on the 8(a) contracting program that has been an economic lifeline for the majority of the most profitable Alaska Native corporations.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth opened the attack on 8(a) contracts, saying he is “taking a sledgehammer to the oldest DEI program in the federal government, a program few people outside of Washington have ever heard of, that I hadn’t heard of.”

No one inside an Alaska Native corporation is as uninformed as Hegseth, the former TV talker.

(READ MORE - dermotcole.com)

NANA Acquires Drake Construction, Expanding Infrastructure Capabilities

image from: adn.com

NANA Regional Corporation completed the acquisition of substantially all assets of Drake Construction, a Kotzebue-based general contractor. Drake Construction brings deep expertise in general contracting, civil infrastructure, utility systems, aggregate production, and marine logistics. These capabilities directly complement NANA’s existing construction, engineering, and facilities operations.

(READ MORE - akbizmag.com)