North Slope oil: $91.65 per barrel, up $0.92

BP shut down a small portion of the Prudhoe Bay oil field last week after a judge ruled that federal regulators failed for years to get approval from the Inupiat Eskimo family that owns the land.

The Alaska Gasline Port Authority and its partners say a plan to expand natural gas supplies should be ready for financing this spring and could be delivering gas before 2013.

North Slope oil: $90.73 per barrel, down $2.17

Shares in BP have jumped after a report published Tuesday saying Royal Dutch Shell is interested in a merger with the London-based oil company.

Alaska Native and conservation groups have succeeded in challenging clean air permits granted to Shell Oil to drill exploration wells in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas.

Another company is looking to bring jet fuel into Alaska.

North Slope oil: $92.90 per barrel, up $1.71

BISMARCK, N.D. — Government and industry officials believe North Dakota’s oil patch contains more than twice the amount of oil previously estimated and that the state’s already record crude production will double within the decade, putting it ahead of Alaska’s.