[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 118 (Thursday, July 17, 2008)]
[House]
[Page H6679]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H6679]]
                       NATIONAL PETROLEUM RESERVE

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Today my colleagues on the other side of the aisle are 
bringing up legislation promoting drilling in the National Petroleum 
Reserve, a large desolate tract of land to the west of ANWR in Alaska. 
It is nice that they finally acknowledge we need to access more of our 
own energy resources right here at home. But I do find it strange that 
they are willing to advocate drilling in the National Petroleum 
Reserve, which was originally set aside for the use of our military in 
an emergency, yet they continue to oppose oil exploration in ANWR.
  The National Reserve contains about 440 barrels of oil per acre, 
compared to ANWR's 5,475 barrels per acre. The National Reserve's oil 
and gas fields are more than 250 miles from existing pipeline 
infrastructure, compared to ANWR's 75-mile distance. The National 
Reserve's oil and gas fields are spread out over 23 million acres, 
compared to 1.9 million acres in ANWR.
  It is strange that my colleagues, who are supposed to be more 
environmentally conscious, would wish to drill for oil that is more 
spread out and will require a much larger footprint to access instead 
of using the more concentrated oil and natural gas resources in ANWR.

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