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Arctic Power yearly meeting draws record attendance Election uncertainty fails to dim new hopes for ANWR drilling, polls show public support Steve Sutherlin PNA Contributing Writer
Arctic Power enjoyed record attendance at its third annual dinner meeting at the Anchorage Hilton Nov. 15. More than 250 supporters of oil development on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge gathered for remarks by Sen. Frank Murkowski and other dignitaries.
The mood was generally upbeat despite continuing uncertainty of the outcome of the presidential race between George W. Bush and Al Gore.
The Arctic Power board of directors met prior to the general meeting but was unable to finalize its strategy for the upcoming year because Bush and Gore hold opposing views on ANWR development, said Camden Toohey, Arctic Power executive director.
Bush has spoken out in favor of ANWR development while Gore has said he opposes development in the refuge. Alaska voters strongly favored Bush in the Nov. 7 election.
Gasoline prices major catalyst Toohey said that ANWR development supporters had been successful in getting pro-development legislation through the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives: “The problem for the last eight years has been getting the president to sign it.”
“I don't think it matters radically who becomes president,” said Roger Herrera, a consulting geologist who does work for Arctic Power.
“My guess is that the price of gas will hit what is perceived to be a crisis level and then there will be a huge amount of pressure from the public to open ANWR, and I don't think Al Gore can resist that,” Herrera said.
Herrera said that dipping into strategic reserves to counteract high prices or supply interruptions, while an option for the future administration, would provide only psychological relief.
“This is a real serious game that has nothing to do with the spin game being played,” he said.
Herrera said that natural gas has a medium to long term impact and does not cause such an immediate and strong public reaction as the price of gasoline at the pumps.
“Gasoline is the real catalyst,” he said.
Herrera said no one can forecast the price of gasoline but that pump prices of $2.50 per gallon were a possibility this winter driving season.
“OPEC is saying it won't increase production and in fact may decrease production; that is a considerable indicator that the price of a barrel of oil will go up,” he said.
ANWR: long term solution There is a danger to politicians in waiting too long to open ANWR because of the long lead-time required for development, Herrera said.
“The problem with ANWR is that it's a long term fix if it's a fix at all, and most political problems require short term solutions,” he said.
Herrera said trends in worldwide supply and demand for energy indicate that production from ANWR will be highly beneficial to Alaska and to the United States.
He said that the world has become comfortable with the idea of $30-plus per barrel oil, but prices could go much higher as economic recovery in the Orient and increasing Third World prosperity drive petroleum demand ever higher.
“If the price of oil goes higher we think (ANWR) will be a huge benefit to Alaska, and two million barrels per day of domestic production changes the financial picture in America; at $50 per barrel what does it mean financially?” he said.
Coal reserves will never be used Herrera said that the perceived benefits of leaving the oil in the ground as a reserve for the future might be illusory at best.
“Coal revolutionized the world and was the driving force behind the industrial revolution, yet half of all coal reserves will stay in the ground and never be used because coal was displaced by oil and natural gas,” he said.
“In the long term we're hoping that hydrogen or some other energy source will become practical but for now we have to fall back on the proven sources, he said.
“Today 85 per cent of our energy comes from hydrocarbons, 10 per cent comes from nuclear (which is unlikely to be expanded in the present climate), and the balance comes from renewable sources,” he said.
“Eventually oil prices will get so high that other energy sources will become viable, but in the meantime it's against human nature to starve ourselves to death before we eat our food source,” he said.
Politicians already informed Although Herrera maintains that price will be the deciding factor in opening ANWR, he said that efforts to promote drilling in the area are effective.
“Arctic Power has made leaders aware of the options they have,” he said, adding, “When the general public becomes aware, the politicians will jump.”
“Of course all of this is theoretical and opinionated and you can't forecast the timing very accurately,” he said.
“As one gets older one hopes it will be sooner rather than later, but it's absolutely inevitable that the plain will be opened,” Herrera said.
Local support for ANWR “We really want development to happen in the Kaktovik area,” said Fenton Rexford, president of the Kaktovik Inupiat Corp.
KIC was created under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 for the Inupiat Eskimos of Kaktovik. Kaktovik is the only community located within the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and has 92,000 acres of surface lands in the area.
“Our people and our valley would have a very powerful argument against monument status,” he said, adding, “The coastal plain is not a wilderness, there are people living in Kaktovik.”
Oil development has helped the people in the area to live safer and more comfortable lives, Reford said. “Next fall we're waiting for a water and sewer project in the village.”
Rexford said that concerns about caribou should not take precedent over the wishes of local residents.
“We live there 365 days a year; the porcupine herd is there just two weeks a year,” he said. Rexford also noted that the Central Arctic Herd in the Prudhoe Bay area has expanded since oil development began in the 1970s.
North Slope Borough supports ANWR “Why is it that they assume that Native people can't benefit from the development of their lands?” said George Ahmaogak, North Slope Borough Mayor.
“They label it untouchable, well it is neither untouched or untouchable,” he said. “Our lives and our livelihoods depend on it.”
“We are the Inupiat, and ANWR lies entirely in our domain,” he said. “Our great grandfathers enjoyed its beauty and its bounty and hopefully our great grandchildren will do the same.”
Ahmaogak said that the Inupiat had taken land selections under ANCSA and had lived up to their part of the bargain, but that the federal government had subsequently passed laws that prevented the Inupiat from developing their lands.
Ahmaogak told PNA that he was perplexed that the government would allow drilling on the outer continental shelf while preventing land-based drilling in ANWR, which was much less risky.
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