As Pulitzer Price winner Daniel Yergin once noted, "the major obstacle to the development of new supplies is not geology but what happens above ground: international affairs, politics, investment and technology." In the case of Alaskan oil production, the biggest obstacle for oil companies has been the tax system implemented by former Gov. Sarah Palin. The system would increase the royalty percentage Alaska receives as the price of oil increases, and at high prices companies would have to surrender as much as 75% of all income generated on a barrel of oil. Now that Palin's plan has been repealed in favor of a 35% flat tax, big Alaskan players like ConocoPhillips (COP 1.23%) and BP (BP 1.58%) are looking to invest there again.
Tune into the video below to find out what BP, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil (XOM 1.15%), and Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.B) all have in store for Alaska and what it means for these companies from an investment standpoint.
