[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3298-S3299]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MURKOWSKI:
  S. 2408. A bill to authorize the exploration, leasing, development, 
and production of oil and gas in and from the western portion of the 
Coastal Plain of the State of Alaska without surface occupancy, and for 
other purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce two separate 
bills to open a small portion of the Arctic coastal plain, in my home 
State of Alaska, to oil and gas development. I am introducing these 
bills because new production in northern Alaska is vital to my State's 
future and global energy security.
  The 1.5 million acres of the Arctic coastal plain that lie within the 
non-wilderness portion of the 19 million acre Arctic National Wildlife 
Refuge are North America's greatest prospect for conventional onshore 
production. The U.S. Geological Survey continues to estimate that this 
part of the coastal plain has a mean likelihood of containing 10.4 
billion barrels of oil and 8.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, as 
well as a reasonable chance of economically producing 16 billion 
barrels of oil. If produced at a rate of 1 million barrels per day, 
that supply could last for more than 40 years--bringing us jobs, 
revenues, and security in every one of them.
  Today, Alaska supplies about 7 percent of U.S. crude oil. This is a 4 
percent decline since I last introduced similar bills in 2011. It is an 
even more substantial loss compared to what we have provided in past 
decades, and what we could be providing today. Importantly, despite the 
Federal Government owning almost 70 percent of the lands in Alaska, 
almost all of our oil production is from State lands. The only 
production on Federal lands is from the Northstar project, a small man-
made island that straddles state and federal waters in the Beaufort 
Sea.
  For more than 30 years, my State has successfully balanced resource 
development with environmental protection. Alaskans have proven, over 
and over again, that these endeavors are not mutually exclusive, and 
with advances in technology, the footprint of development projects is 
only getting smaller. Yet at the Federal level, there is an astonishing 
refusal to acknowledge that record.
  As a result, production on the North Slope continues to decline by 
about 6 percent annually. With new exploration and development projects 
on Federal lands blocked or delayed at every turn, Alaska faces a 
tipping point. Declining production is now threatening the continued 
operation of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. A closure of TAPS would 
shut down all northern Alaska oil production, devastating Alaska's 
economy, causing global oil prices to rise, and deepening our 
dependence on unstable petrostates throughout the world. Exploration 
and development in the Arctic offshore and National Petroleum Reserve-
Alaska are moving forward, but these resources will not be developed 
without a viable way to transport them to market.
  The bills I introduce today, S. 2408 and S. 2409, would disturb no 
more than 2,000 acres of the vast coastal plain, and one bill would not 
allow surface occupancy of the coastal plain, only directional drilling 
from outside the refuge to access the oil and gas resources. To put 
this in perspective, 2,000 acres is less than the size of the local 
Dulles Airport, or about \1/10\ of 1 percent of the refuge. Since these 
areas are less than 60 miles from TAPS, development in the coastal 
plain is the quickest, most environmentally-sound way to increase oil 
production in Alaska and ensure the pipeline will operate well into the 
future, providing jobs and supporting the economies of both Alaska and 
the United States.
  The terms of both bills include strong protections for fish and 
wildlife, fish and wildlife habitat, subsistence resources, and the 
environment. Development could not move forward if it would cause 
significant adverse impacts to the coastal plain. Both bills

[[Page S3299]]

also return 50 percent of all revenues to the Federal Government, 
rather than the 10 percent allowed under current law. At approximately 
$100 per barrel, and given the Coastal Plain's estimate of over 10 
billion barrels, there is a trillion dollars' worth of oil locked up 
beneath this small area in northern Alaska.
  As we continue to struggle with high long-term unemployment and 
unsustainable national debt, we need to pursue development 
opportunities more than ever. The shale oil and gas boom on state and 
private lands in the Lower 48 has been the one shining light as our 
economy struggles to recover from the recession. My bills offer us a 
chance to produce more of our own energy, for the good of the American 
people, in an environmentally-friendly way. With oil hovering near $100 
a barrel, with so many of our fellow citizens out of work, and with the 
U.S. nation still about 40 percent dependent on foreign oil--it would 
be foolish to once again ignore our most promising prospect for new 
development.
  For decades, Alaskans, whom polls show overwhelmingly support 
development of the coastal plain, have been asking permission to 
explore and develop the resources located there. Technology has 
advanced so that it is possible to develop oil and gas from the refuge 
with little or no impact on the area and its wildlife.
  I hope this Congress will have the common sense to allow America to 
help itself by developing the coastal plain's substantial resources. 
This is critical to my State and the nation as a whole. With this in 
mind, I will work to educate the members of this chamber about the 
opportunity we have and the tremendous benefits it would provide. I 
will show why such development should occur--why it must occur--and how 
it can benefit all of us at a time when we so desperately need good 
economic news.

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