September 6, 2001. Copyright 2001. Graphic News. All rights reserved.

Battle over Alaskan oil goes to U.S. Senate

LONDON, September 6, Graphic News: U.S. President George W. Bush is likely to win the first round in a Senate battle to open an Alaskan wilderness to oil and natural gas drilling.

The 23-member Senate Energy Committee -- due to resume debate on the energy bill next week (September 10) -- is expected to endorse by a one-vote majority the opening of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to exploration.

Ten of the panelÕs 11 Republicans have said they will vote for opening the wilderness, along with Democrat Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, whose state is a major oil and gas producer. But LandrieuÕs vote in favour of drilling is expected to be offset by Oregon Republican Gordon SmithÕs opposition.

Likely victory for the Bush administration will hinge on Democrat Daniel Akaka of Hawaii who, although officially ÒundecidedÓ on the issue, has previously voted for drilling in the refuge.

However, even if the president gets his way with the committee writing the bill, Arctic drilling still faces a tough fight in a vote of the full Senate.

The issue pits two powerful lobbying forces against each other -- organized labour and environmental groups. The International Brotherhood of Teamsters back drilling because it would create thousands of new jobs, while green groups say drilling would jeopardize an area that is home to polar bears, caribou and other wildlife.

The development of the ANWRÕs oil -- put off-limits by Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1960 -- is the cornerstone of the White House plan to meet the countryÕs energy needs. 

But protection of the reserve in northeastern Alaska has been a top priority of environmentalists for years. The refuge is protected by the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA), signed by President Carter in 1980, and requires an act of Congress before any oil or gas development can take place.

Over the last two decades there has been an environmental turf war between Philips, BP, and the other Alaskan oil giants, eager to get their hands on the oil and natural gas beneath the refugeÕs coastal plain.

In February Republican Frank H. Murkowski introduced Senate bill S.389 which would open one area of the ANWR -- known as Ò1002 AreaÓ after Section 1002 of ANILCA -- to oil development. A competing bill, S.411, would designate the area as Òwilderness,Ó prohibiting development.

The potential effects of oil drilling on the wildlife of 1002 Area are unknown. The area is the calving ground for a herd of 130,000 Porcupine caribou; provides nesting and staging wetlands for snow geese, tundra swans and other migratory waterfowl; and is habitat for 22 dens of polar bears and about 250 musk oxen, as well as arctic foxes and wolverine.

President BushÕs plan would require oil companies to use state of the art technology to avoid damage to the environment. The administration estimates that the refuge could hold up to 16 billion barrels of oil, enough to replace the amount of crude the United States imports from Iraq for 70 years. The U.S. market consumes close to 20 million barrels of petroleum a day and must import about 60 percent of that amount.

/ENDS
Sources: Science, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Associated Press, Reuters