ABSTRACT
Alaska's role in the nation and the world is dictated by its geography. Alaska is remote and cold and, because it is remote and cold, sparsely populated. Oil and gas production has had a radically different place in Alaska's economy from the one it occupied in other major oil-producing states of the United States, and is having a more crucial influence on its development. The overwhelming influence of Prudhoe Bay petroleum development on Alaska's economy has operated through several channels, but direct employment and procurement in oilfield, pipeline, and terminal operations have been relatively insignificant. High prices have also persuaded motor vehicle owners and other consumers of refined petroleum products to conserve more oil than either industry or governments thought possible. Petroleum exploration and development themselves will continue making a significant contribution to Alaska's economy in the 1980s—somewhat greater if world oil prices are stabilized near present levels, and somewhat less if they collapse to pre-1979 values.
