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Alaska lawmakers support pro-ANWR resolution Ted Stevens takes to U.S. Senate floor to warn that oil prices could climb to $80 Rose Ragsdale Petroleum News Contributing Writer
Alaska legislators sent Congress another strong call to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration March 3 by passing a resolution in support of the action.
Oil prices, meanwhile, soared to $55 per barrel March 4, prompting Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, to make an impassioned plea on the U.S. Senate floor for oil development in the refuge’s coastal plain.
Stevens, who is Senate President Pro Tempore and the body’s highest ranking Republican, told his colleagues that unless Congress acts to ensure the nation’s energy security by authorizing oil exploration in ANWR, he believes oil prices will continue to rise.
“There is no question that we are in an energy crisis,” Stevens said. ”Now, I cannot believe that the Congress wants to wait until the price goes up to around $80 a barrel. I believe it is going that high unless we develop our domestic resources and look to alternative supplies of energy right here at home.” Gasoline headed to record highs During the busy 2005 driving season, which runs from April through September, gasoline prices will hit record highs, averaging $2.10 a gallon, the Energy Information Administration said March 8 in its monthly energy forecast. That’s up 20 cents, or nearly 10 percent from the same period last year.
This spring, the monthly retail price is forecast to average $2.15 a gallon, but drivers may face pump prices higher than that on a weekly basis, the EIA said.
Stevens also quoted energy economist Daniel Yergin, who said high energy and gasoline prices essentially act as a consumer tax, leaving Americans with less disposable income for travel, home buying, restaurants, and retail establishments.
“… It is estimated that for every 1 cent increase at the pump, we see $1 billion lost in consumer spending,” he said. ANWR resolution critical Gov. Frank H. Murkowski applauded passage of SJR2, which affirms Alaska’s support for opening ANWR.
“Opening ANWR has long been one of my top priorities — first as a U.S. Senator and now as Alaska’s governor,” Murkowski said March 3. “ANWR can provide a secure, dependable supply of oil to our nation — and jobs for Alaskans. Through technology, we can diversify our energy supply and protect our environment. Development of ANWR is important to Alaskans — and critical for the nation.”
State Senate President Ben Stevens, R-Anchorage, the senior Stevens’ son, said the measure is critical to getting the message across in Congress that Alaskans want ANWR opened. “Putting more oil in the trans-Alaska pipeline keeps that national asset in business and makes the nation’s oil supply more secure,” Stevens added.
The resolution, which originated in the Senate Resources Committee chaired by Sen. Tom Wagoner, R-Kenai, is the latest in a series of similar endorsements the state Legislature has approved almost annually since the mid-1990s.
“Alaska’s Legislature has once again committed to support responsible development of our state’s vast resource potential,” said Rep. Mike Hawker, R-Anchorage. “We will continue sending our message supporting the opening of ANWR to Washington, D.C. until we get the job done.” Funds may follow ANWR endorsement Alaska lawmakers are also expected to approve Senate Bill 98, a fast-track supplemental appropriations request from Murkowski that includes $500,000 earmarked for promoting ANWR oil development in Congress. The House Finance Committee began hearings on the measure March 9.
If approved, most of the funding is expected to go to pro-ANWR development group Arctic Power, which had its effectiveness called into question by state leaders recently.
Movement of two other bills, House Bill 32 and SB 69, that would have provided Arctic Power with more than $1 million in funds has slowed to a crawl in the Legislature in the past few weeks.
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