Bush administration wants ANWR, but not threatening energy bill veto, Abraham says

Secretary of Energy tells Alliance that while ANWR is a key point in the president’s energy plan, it is but one of more than 100 items in plan

Steve Sutherlin

PNA Managing Editor

President Bush has not made a threat to veto the energy bill if it does not contain a provision to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham said at a press conference in Anchorage Sept 23 prior to the Alaska Support Industry Alliance annual meeting at the Sheraton Anchorage Hotel. (See related story on page 3 in PNA’s Sept. 22 issue titled, “No ANWR? Veto bill,” says Gale Norton.)

“We don’t want to talk about how to not have a bill,” Abraham said. “We’re going to look at what the conference committee comes up with as a whole.”

Abraham said ANWR has been a key point of the administration’s energy plan from day one, but it is one of more than 100 points contained in the plan. If an energy bill emerges from the House-Senate conference committee without an ANWR provision, the administration might elect to find another way to drill in the refuge. ANWR is very important to the administration, he said.

“The potential improvement in America’s security (from developing ANWR) is unquestionable.”

Anchorage was the last stop for Abraham on a globe-circling energy junket with meetings in Austria, Azerbaijan, and Japan. Due to illness, Abraham cancelled a planned visit to the North Slope, but he recovered in time to voice strong support for a North Slope natural gas line and for ANWR oil exploration in remarks to the Alliance dinner meeting.

Abraham said one of the goals of the Azerbaijan meetings was to help increase the diversity of supply of energy from around the world, but he added that will not be enough to meet the country’s needs.

“We could aggressively pursue conservation measures over the next 20 years,” he said. “We could expand our diversity of supplies and expand the types of sources of energy we use, but we could not completely match the demand for energy projected in 2020 without increasing domestic production too.”

Abraham said that to other countries, America seems complacent about replacing its declining domestic production capacity.

“Other countries will base their energy policy decisions on what is in their own best interests, and the United States must start doing the same,” he said. “Our administration will not beg for oil. That is not the kind of country we are, nor does it make sense when there are billions of barrels of oil waiting to be extracted right here in Alaska. The time has come for Congress to finish the job and let ANWR begin.”