Alaska Oil Boom Brings Big Cash | Anchorage News

0:00It's September 11th. Welcome in. This is Anchorage News today, where local news meets AI. Yo, so check it. Nor slow crude oil just hit $100 a barrel. This is the first time we've seen that price point since way back in June. It's a big deal because while folks are feeling the pinch at the pump with gas and diesel prices climbing, this surge in oil revenue is actually bringing in more cash for Alaska services and, you know, those permanent fund dividends. Now, the state's preliminary numbers for the fiscal year that just ended on June 30th show they pulled in just under $7 billion in. General Purpose Revenue. That's a significant jump. Over $500 million more than they initially predicted back in March, and that March prediction was already higher than what they thought last fall. This influx of cash, partly fueled by global events, means some good news for Alaskans. We're talking an extra $128 million

1:00for the permanent fund dividends, which bumps this year's payout up to $1,200 for person. Those checks start dropping on October 1st. Plus, there's an extra $115 million for local schools and 15 million more for the state's bulk fuel program. After all that extra spending, there's still over $341 million left over. That's going straight into the state savings account, the statutory budget reserve, which is basically a rainy day fund that lawmakers can tap into. If they agree, and looking ahead, oil prices are still running higher than projected for the current fiscal year, meaning more money could be on the way. The word on the street is that oil prices might not dip until after the upcoming elections. If that's the case, lawmakers and the new governor could be looking at tens, maybe even hundreds of millions of dollars more to work with when they get together in January. The legislative finance division is already projecting a surplus of over $106 million

2:01for the next fiscal year.