Senate panel probes potential oil, gas development in non-wilderness acres of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Following a budget reconciliation instruction for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to identify $1 billion in cuts over 10 years, the committee weighed gas and oil development in a non-wilderness portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on Thursday.

Known as the 1002 Area, the non-wilderness region covers approximately 2,000 acres and is separate from the ANWR in Alaska. Congress designated the area for oil and gas exploration in 1980 — and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), the chairwoman of the committee, led Alaska’s delegation in advocating for exploration during Thursday’s hearing.

“Opening the 1002 Area to responsible oil and gas development will create thousands of new jobs, and those jobs will pay the types of wages that support families and put our kids through college,” Murkowski said. “It will also generate tens of billions of dollars in revenues over the life of the fields for every level of government.”

Murkowski pointed to environmental standards put in place by Alaskans to protect wildlife, noting that Alaskans have “repeatedly proven that we can develop safely and responsibly, and development in the 1002 Area will be no different.”

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) testified that opening the 1002 Area of ANWR for oil and gas exploration would bolster national security and promote energy independence.

“When we don’t have to import energy from countries that don’t like us, or better yet when we can export American energy to our allies like Japan and Korea, or even a country like China, this helps our national security and foreign policy,” Sullivan said.

U.S. Sen. Don Young (R-AK) drew a dot on his nose during the hearing to demonstrate that the 1002 Area accounts for a small portion of ANWR, approximately one ten-thousandth.

“You see anything different on my nose right now,” Young asked. “I am Alaska. One-tenth of one-tenth percent is what we’re talking about in disturbance …This little dot on my nose – I weigh 225 lbs. – this little dot is what we’re talking about in surface impact in the 1002 Area. That’s a potential for approximately — early estimates were 10 billion barrels — and now estimates are probably around 20 billion barrels of oil.”

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, meanwhile, cited Alaska Department of Natural Resources estimates that oil production from federal acres in the 1002 Area could generate $175 billion in royalty and tax revenues for Alaska over a 40-year period.

“As Congress originally considered in ANCSA and ANILCA, it must be determined whether these economic benefits can be pursued in a safe manner that protects the wildlife of the Alaska North Slope,” Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott said. “I believe the State’s longstanding success shows that it definitely can, and thus should be done.”

Doyon Limited President and CEO Aaron Schutt testified that an Interior Department environmental assessment indicates that ANWR’s oil reserves could be developed with just 2,000 acres of the coastal plain being disrupted.

“The technology available to oil and gas companies today supports that assessment,” Schutt said. “Development will not physically touch 99.99 percent of the refuge, and it would leave untouched all of the refuge’s current 7.16 million acres of formal wilderness.”