John Stelling had just dialled up the price at his petrol pump to\nUS$9.10 in his remote Alaska community when he realised he had a\nproblem. He doubted whether his machine could handle a double-digit\nprice if costs continued to climb. \u201cI\u2019m not sure this machine can handle\nthat,\u201d he said of the possibility of fuel reaching US$10 per gallon.<\/p>\n
In the Alaskan interior, the impact of the US-Iran war has triggered\nthe highest fuel prices in the United States. Remote towns and villages\nnot connected to the road system must pay a significant premium for\npetrol, heating oil, and diesel to generate electricity.<\/p>\n
The situation in Alaska is a paradox. Although the state possesses\nabundant fossil fuel resources and is central to President Donald\nTrump\u2019s energy agenda, residents in the interior are being squeezed. The\nUS-Israel war with Iran has made energy security a primary global\nconcern, but for Alaskans, it means an unbearable economic burden.<\/p>\n
Fuel typically arrives by barge during the summer when the ice melts.\nThe last delivery sets the price until the next shipment months later.\nMany remote communities were forced to order supplies last spring, just\nas the Iran war sent oil prices soaring. Governor Mike Dunleavy stated\nthat the small scale and vast distances of the Alaskan interior work\nagainst its residents. \u201cThis could be a tough autumn and winter,\u201d he\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Although Alaska is the fifth-largest oil producer in the US, most of\nits crude is shipped overseas. Due to limited road infrastructure and\nfederal laws restricting foreign vessels from transporting goods between\nUS ports, it is often cheaper for Alaska to import fuel from countries\nlike South Korea than to buy it from local refineries. In Dillingham,\npetrol and heating oil prices have reached around US$9 per gallon. City\nmanager Jack Savo Jr.\u00a0noted that a breakthrough in US-Iran peace talks\nwould not provide instant relief, as prices in their region do not react\nquickly to changes in the world market.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to push for a \u201cGreat\nAlaskan Revival\u201d by accelerating oil production on the North Slope.\nMajor projects like Pikka and Willow are expected to reverse the decline\nin Alaska\u2019s oil output. Giants such as ConocoPhillips, Repsol, and Exxon\nMobil are investing billions of dollars in drilling rights. However, Tom\nAtkinson, a former electric utility executive in Kotzebue, believes the\noil and gas development has not yet truly benefited the communities most\nin need of energy cost savings.<\/p>\n
This energy crisis is beginning to erode support for Trump in the\ninterior and has become a central issue in the Senate election between\nRepublican incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democratic challenger Mary\nPeltola. Peltola, who supports new oil projects but has pledged to lower\nthe cost of living, is starting to attract voters who feel burdened by\nthe current administration\u2019s policies. In the village of New Stuyahok,\nthe price of petrol has even touched $10 per gallon, causing the cost of\nother essential goods to double. For residents like Justin Askoak, a\nfuel distributor in New Stuyahok, the situation is deeply worrying.\n\u201cEverything we buy costs twice as much, and it all comes down to one\npoint, one administration,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/alaska-energy-crisis-fuel-prices-soar-amid-us-iran-war-1783403485", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }