Texas Tea: Republicans Look for Oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Lawmakers may attach to the federal budget a contentious provision that would allow drilling in a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a 19 million-acre wilderness in Alaska.

Since the budget is immune to legislative blockades, an ANWR rider could pass with a simple majority, instead of the 60 votes needed to override a filibuster.

Democrats strongly oppose the Republican plan to search for oil in a nature preserve, so they have fought for the last five years to keep the measure from passing.

But they won’t be able to stop Republicans if the provision is attached to the budget, especially since Republicans gained four Senate seats in the 2004 election.

Drilling debate

For over a decade, Americans have debated about drilling for oil in Alaska’s wildlife preserves. Both sides feel that ANWR is the last frontier. Those who support drilling in ANWR believe that it is one of the best remaining prospects for significant oil discovery in the United States; those who oppose drilling maintain that it is some of the last untouched wilderness in the country and there is not much oil there, especially compared to Canada.

Republicans’ arguments:

There are very few prospects for drilling in the U.S. but there are many benefits to domestic oil:

• New domestic oil production would create new jobs and raise the gross national product by many billions of dollars.
• Imported oil is too costly and increases our dependence on the Middle East.
• Very little of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will be affected by oil drilling and production. The proposal allows development in just 2,000 acres of the 1.5 million-acre costal plain of ANWR.
• Oil and gas development can successfully coexist with Alaska’s arctic wildlife. The caribou herd at Prudhoe Bay (a huge oilfield) has grown in size, so the industry does not seem to inhibit mating and migration.
• The likelihood of finding oil in ANWR is one in five. The industry considers these to be good odds, since there is a potential for high return. The peak output could reach up to 800,000 barrels a day, or 10% of all U.S. production.

Democrats’ arguments:

Drilling for oil in ANWR is not the best solution to our energy problems.

• Improving the fuel efficiency of motor vehicles could save more barrels of oil than can be extracted from the Arctic Refuge.
• Oil is not a renewable resource, once we extract it from the land, it will be gone.
• Drilling for oil in ANWR is a short-term solution to a long-term problem. If we find oil in ANWR, it will last us a relatively short period of time. The damage that we do in extracting the oil could last for generations.
• Oil drilling and production in ANWR is certain to affect the plant and animal life there. ANWR is some of the last untouched land in the country, if not the world. It is not worth the risk of oil spills and damage to the fragile tundra.
• Studies show that the caribou can be negatively affected by development. Some developed areas in the region have seen a 20% decrease in herd birthrates.
• Drilling in Alaska will not solve the problems that we are having in the Middle East right now. It would take at least 10 years for oil from ANWR to be used in American fuel tanks. Our Canadian friends have vast oil reserves and a stable government. They are a better source.

Oil industry surprise

Contrary to popular belief, the oil industry is not lobbying heavily to drill in ANWR. The Bush administration and Republicans in Congress are the most outspoken promoters of the plan.

Although the oil industry supports drilling in ANWR, they are not aggressively petitioning members of Congress to pass the measure. This may be because ANWR is a relatively small venture for massive oil companies that have the power to develop oil fields all over the world. It is estimated that, during peak production, ANWR would amount to only 0.7 percent of world oil production -- so to the oil industry, ANWR is small potatoes. ‘

In addition, some say that the oil industry is backing off in order to appease consumers who may be unhappy about the idea of big oil invading untouched wilderness. Environmental groups claim that the oil industry is lobbying, but not publicly.

ANWR as symbol

Republicans say that the oil industry has little to do with their interest in ANWR. Pete Domenici, Republican chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, says that he’s not pursuing ANWR because of oil companies. Republicans want to develop ANWR because the U.S. imports too much oil, Domenici says.

And if Republicans win ANWR, oil reserves off the coast of Florida and California become more attainable. People on both sides of the argument recognize ANWR’s symbolism: if ANWR remains protected, it will be harder for Congress to approve drilling projects elsewhere.

What do you think?

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Article Posted on: 3/4/2005