[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 72 (Wednesday, May 14, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6248-S6249]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         DEVELOPING ALASKA OIL

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, my colleague, Senator Murkowski, recently 
wrote an article entitled ``Developing Alaska Oil Is Good for the 
Global Environment,'' which was published on May 4, 2003 in the 
Anchorage Daily News.

[[Page S6249]]

  Senator Murkowski made extremely astute observations and concisely 
detailed the hard truths of the United States' current energy 
condition.
  I ask unanimous consent to have printed in the Record Senator 
Murkowski's article.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Anchorage Daily News, May 4, 2003]

          Developing Alaska Oil Is Good for Global Environment

                          (By Lisa Murkowski)

       As Congress continues to debate whether to permit some 
     limited oil development on Alaska's Arctic coastal plain, we 
     must ask whether America is doing everything it can to 
     protect its energy security in the future.
       As a new Senator from Alaska, I may shock some by 
     acknowledging some hard truths. First, this nation needs to 
     do a far better job of energy conservation and needs to 
     develop innovative energy technologies to meet our growing 
     need for clean and efficient fuels.
       For example, overcoming the technical hurdles of hydrogen-
     powered vehicles could be very beneficial in meeting our 
     future energy needs. Second, opening a tiny part of the 
     Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by itself will not solve all 
     our energy woes, as it will take time to develop the area's 
     potential. But ignoring the area's huge energy potential 
     equates to hoping that foreign sources will supply our winter 
     heating oil and summer gasoline needs at reasonable prices 
     into the distant future. That's like students avoiding 
     studying for finals in hopes that a snowstorm will force 
     schools to close in May.
       It also ignores the limitations of the refining process for 
     crude oil and the growth in demand for aviation fuel, diesel, 
     plastics and other items made from oil. The truth, according 
     to the U.S. Energy Information Agency, is that there's a 50-
     50 chance the Arctic coastal plain holds about 10 billion 
     barrels of economically recoverable oil--enough to produce 
     about 1 million barrels a day for 30 years.
       Rather than some inconsequential amount, such a find would 
     be the largest oil field discovered in the world in the last 
     three decades and would equal nearly one-fifth of America's 
     domestic production by 2010.
       Equally important, at current prices, it represents $15 
     billion a year that we won't have to spend on buying oil 
     overseas, in some cases enriching dictators who wish us ill. 
     Producing more energy at home would strengthen our economy by 
     producing jobs and tax revenues here. It would foster our 
     national security in the midterm by lessening the potential 
     for America to be subject to blackmail from foreign oil 
     boycotts.
       And allowing more oil development in Alaska would honor the 
     promises Congress thrice made to my state, first at our 
     statehood, later in 1960 when President Eisenhower created 
     the Arctic National Wildlife Range and most recently in 1980 
     when 131 million acres of Alaska was withdrawn as parks and 
     refuges. Each decision specifically permitted oil development 
     to take place on the coastal plain, unless such development 
     would harm Alaska's environment. And the truth is that 
     tapping into a tiny percentage of ANWR's vast acreage won't.
       According to the recent environmental impact statement for 
     reauthorization of the trans-Alaska oil pipeline, less than 1 
     percent of the vegetation of the Arctic coastal plain likely 
     will be impacted by future oil development. Safeguards in 
     congressional legislation will guarantee that no more than 
     2,000 acres of the 40 million acres of coastal plain will be 
     touched.
       Directional drilling underground allows oil wells to be 
     placed up to seven miles apart, preventing disturbance to the 
     animals that breed and graze in between. New procedures on 
     seismic work prevent ocean noise when bowhead whales are 
     passing.
       Some worry about the impacts on calving caribou. But 
     Alaska's experience at the nearby Prudhoe Bay oil field, 
     where the caribou herd has grown sixfold, shows that caribou 
     can not only tolerate but flourish in oil fields. That is 
     especially the case since restrictions will prevent any 
     drilling noise during the two months when the caribou might 
     be present.
       Developing oil domestically actually is good for the global 
     environment since it reduces the importation of oil on 
     foreign-flagged, single-hulled tankers, requiring the oil 
     industry to meet America's stringent environmental 
     safeguards.
       Alaska's beauty certainly is not threatened as 192 million 
     acres of Alaska remain protected--nearly the size of all East 
     Coast states combined. The truth is that America needs to 
     both conserve and produce more energy.
       If we can, as some have argued, reduce our foreign reliance 
     on oil by 1 million barrels per day by increased 
     conservation, and also increase production from ANWR by 
     adding a million barrels, the 2 million barrels resulting 
     from this two-pronged approach would substantially improve 
     U.S. energy policy.
       The government predicts that U.S. oil production will 
     continue its steady decline unless we act now. By 2015 
     America will be producing just 30 percent of the oil we 
     consume daily. We've wasted a quarter century on this debate.
       Let's help ourselves by developing our own oil reserves 
     now.

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