Shale oil could be a “game changer” for the Alaska North Slope, and the state Department of Natural Resources is moving to facilitate shale development and find answers to problems that could impede it.

Paul Decker, a petroleum geologist and section chief of the resource evaluation group in the Division of Oil and Gas, briefed members of the Alaska Geological Society Sept. 22 on what the state now knows about the resource.

Alaska U.S. Sen. Mark Begich says he’s cautiously optimistic that the congressional super committee of 12 will be able to craft a plan for budget reductions by a Nov. 23 federal deadline.

There’s more than a 50 percent chance the super committee, with its bicameral makeup of six senators and six representatives split evenly on party lines, could achieve a majority decision to support a plan, the senator told the Downtown Anchorage Rotary Club Aug. 30.

Escopeta Oil and Gas Co. is negotiating a possible fine with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security over a violation of the U.S. Jones Act that occurred when the company moved the Spartan Drilling Co. Blake 151 jack-up rig recently from the U.S. Gulf Coast to Cook Inlet.

“There are discussions under way but nothing has been determined,” Escopeta spokesman Steve Sutherlin said.

The Blake 151 is now being prepared for final state inspections by the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Sutherlin said. Drilling is expected to begin within days.

Spending for medical care in Alaska is ticking along at 8 percent annual growth rates and could reach about $8 billion in 2011, according to an analysis by consulting economist Mark Foster, who tracks the health care industry.

Foster has been retained by the Alaska Health Care Commission, an advisory group to the state, to track trends in health spending.

If the current trend continues, it would reach $10 billion in 2015 and $14.5 billion in 2020, Foster said in an interview.