"Alaska's existing oil costs an average of $50 a barrel to produce, not including taxes."

OK, that's a pretty concrete figure, and one that I've seen repeated. And that I'm darned skeptical about. So where has this figure been verified? My understanding is that the State of Alaska hasn't completed oil company audits in many years, so the state doesn't know.

And just what is "existing oil", exactly? Is it the "old" oil at Prudhoe, or all the oil in the state, including heavily-subsidized Cook Inlet fields? If you are going to make a declarative statement like this - the linchpin of your entire article - you need to support it, Mr.  Wohlforth.

Frankly, I don't think that anyone knows what oil in Alaska costs to produce. Except the oil companies. And in this poker game with the state, they ain't tellin'.