Alaska governor blasts suit against northwest NPR-A leasing decision

Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski said Feb. 18 that he wants the state of Alaska to intervene in a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Alaska Feb. 16 by Earthjustice against the U.S. Department of the Interior’s recent decision to offer large portions of the northwest National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska for oil and gas leasing.

“Alaska has a great deal at stake at NPR-A, in terms of royalties, as well as jobs and the economic activity associated with oil exploration and development,” Murkowski said. “The state clearly has an interest in making sure NPR-A leases are kept on the Department of the Interior’s schedule.

“Once again, we find the ‘lock-up Alaska’ attitude of the environmental organizations has resulted in a legal challenge to the public process,” Murkowski said. “I’m sure they would like nothing more than to be able to delay indefinitely any reasonable use of the National Petroleum Reserve. The fact is that it is a petroleum reserve. It should be used for the purpose for which it was aside in 1923. Reducing America’s dependence on foreign oil is a laudable objective of the Bush administration, but it is not compatible with the agenda of the environmentalists.”