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House panel to hold hearing on ANWR Rep. Hastings pushes ANWR development as way to generate jobs, cut federal deficit; meantime, efforts continue to protect refuge Wesley Loy For Petroleum News
A congressional committee has scheduled a Sept. 21 hearing on “ANWR: Jobs, Energy and Deficit Reduction.”
The hearing continues the perennial debate on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and whether drilling on the area’s coastal plain should be allowed to tap potentially billions of barrels of oil.
The current angle among drilling supporters in Congress centers on the revenue and jobs potential of ANWR oil production.
The House Natural Resources Committee hearing will convene at 10 a.m. Sept. 21 in Washington, D.C. The witness list was not yet available as Petroleum News went to press on Sept. 15.
The committee’s website said: “This hearing will specifically examine the benefits of developing a small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska as an opportunity to create new jobs and generate new revenue for the government. Responsible energy production on less than three percent of ANWR’s total land could create thousands of jobs and $150 billion or more in revenue over the life of production.”
Statements from Rep. Hastings The committee chairman, Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., has been outspoken recently on the subject of ANWR.
“Faced with record deficits, near double-digit unemployment and high gasoline prices, lawmakers should not take any job-creating options off the table,” Hastings said in a press release announcing the hearing.
Speaking on Sept. 7 at an energy jobs summit hosted by the American Petroleum Institute and The Hill newspaper, Hastings recommended that the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction — the bipartisan “supercommittee” formed after the deal to raise the federal debt ceiling — consider ANWR and other energy production as a way to generate revenue and avoid tax increases.
“A common argument from critics who oppose ANWR production is that it would take over 10 years for production to come online,” Hastings said. “They’ve been making this argument for 16 years.”
In June, Hastings visited Kaktovik, a village on ANWR’s coastal plain.
“The people there strongly support the development of ANWR and recognize the jobs and economic opportunities it would create within their community,” Hastings said.
Countering factors ANWR stands, of course, as a crown jewel for environmental activists, who have mounted efforts recently to further shield the refuge from oil and gas activity. One idea is designating ANWR as a national monument.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, ANWR’s landlord, is considering whether to recommend huge new chunks of the refuge as wilderness, including the coastal plain. Congress would have the ultimate decision on that.
Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation, as well as Republican Gov. Sean Parnell, are firmly in support of opening the coastal plain to oil and gas exploration.
On Sept. 8, U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, hailed the “Jobs Frontier” report from the Senate and Congressional Western Caucuses. The report touts bills supporting U.S. oil and gas exploration, including S. 706, which would open ANWR.
Murkowski is the ranking Republican member on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which would consider many of the bills mentioned in the “Jobs Frontier” report.
On Sept. 7, the Barrow-based Arctic Slope Regional Corp. issued a press release applauding Hastings for his ANWR recommendation to the deficit reduction supercommittee.
ANWR exploration would mean jobs for people on Alaska’s North Slope, as well as the rest of the state and nation, ASRC said. The company also noted the potential for satisfying domestic demand for oil.
“We’re pleased to see the issue of energy independence being pushed to the forefront,” said Rex Rock Sr., ASRC president.
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