Long overdue and considerable developments have recently been made toward finally access the job-creating energy reserves that remain under the federal government’s lock-and-key along the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. The Interior Dept.’s bureaucracy that oversees offshore energy production – MMS – gave a green light for responsible production in the beginning of December, as we’ve written about.

But that’s not stopping those who are opposed to creating jobs and economic activity through accessing the estimated 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 76 trillion cubic feet of natural gas from thwarting these commonsense efforts. Predictably, they’re heading straight to the 9^th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Reuters reports this under the headline “Shell offshore oil drill plan in Alaska challenged”:

Environmental and Alaska Native groups have filed a legal challenge seeking to overturn U.S. approval of Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s plans to drill up to three wells this year off the shore of Alaska, representatives said on Wednesday.

Late on Tuesday, the coalition of groups filed its challenge to drilling in the remote Chukchi Sea. The petition in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals seeks to void the U.S. Minerals Management Service’s Dec. 7 approval of Shell’s plan for wells about 60 miles off Alaska’s northwestern coast.

Shell fired back, though, with actual facts, substance and coherence:

“It’s our belief the MMS was thorough in its technical and environmental evaluation of our 2010 Exploration Plan and that Shell has demonstrated its ability to operate in the Arctic in an environmentally responsible manner,” Shell spokesman Curtis Smith said in a statement. “A tremendous amount of work went into writing and evaluating this permit and we fully expect the MMS to be successful in defending its approval.”

Smith said “Shell has already completed four years of successful seismic and shallow hazard work in the Chukchi Sea – an area that could be home to some of the most prolific, undiscovered hydrocarbon basins in the U.S.“

Thankfully, Alaskans have a fighter for jobs and secure energy as their chief executive. UPI reports this about Gov. Sean Parnell’s ongoing efforts to expand Alaska’s energy economy under the headline “Drill, baby, drill, says Alaska’s Parnell”:

“We will draw on that timeless Alaskan strength and ingenuity to make it happen,” he said. “We will not settle for any less than maximizing recovery of Alaska’s gas for Alaskans’ benefit.”

He pointed to potential oil and gas discoveries in Alaska’s outer continental shelf as a further source of state revenue in a stagnant economy still crippled by the recession.

“I have made exploring and developing the OCS our priority,” he said.

Just miles away, in the North Pole, Santa’s elves are working ‘round the clock to ensure the Christmas cheer is spread far and wide. At the same, those opposed to responsible, 21^st century offshore oil and gas production – and the tens of thousands of good-paying jobs this production could generate – along Alaska’s outer continental shelf (OCS), particularly in our Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, are working just as hard to deliver a nice, big lump of coal in the stockings of those who depend on that energy.

This year has been a roll-coaster of sorts for expanded homegrown energy exploration offshore. There have been set-backs. Major ones. And there have also been flickers of hope, and commonsense advancements towards expanding oil and gas exploration in an environmentally-sound and sensitive way – potentially a huge shot in the arm to Alaska’s economy. Opening Alaska’s deep-oceans for energy exploration also represents a monumental step toward increased U.S. energy security.

KTUU-TV provides a quick end-of-year snapshot of the events that helped shaped the Alaska OCS debate this year. Among the highlights:

The Good

The Outer Continental Shelf in question is the area 20-70 miles off Alaska’s north and west coasts, where offshore drilling proponents say there is potentially 25 billion barrels of oil on tap and another 130 trillion cubic feet of gas.

In March, Northern Economics released a study on the impact of drilling. It was paid for by Shell Oil, the largest lease holder in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and showed that OCS development would employ 35,000 people annually over the next 50 years.

“Our 2010 plan of exploration was crafted as a direct result of feedback we got from North Slope stake holders that we were moving too fast, that it was too much and too soon. So the new plan reflects that. It’s one year, it’s one rig, and it’s half the number of wells we had previously planned to drill,” said Curtis Smith with Shell.

In September Gov. Parnell traveled to the nation’s capital to visit Salazar. “We’re gonna stay in full court press mode for as long as it takes to open the OCS,” Parnell said.

But last month the Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service approved Shell’s plan to start exploring in the Beaufort Sea.

Earlier this month the Interior Department approved Shell’s plans to start exploring in the Chukchi Sea.

The Bad

Almost immediately, [Sec. Salazar] put OCS drilling on hold, saying he needed more input from communities affected by exploration.

In late April a Washington, DC court of appeals said the federal lease program did not conduct adequate environmental studies. The court ordered all lease sales to a halt. Shell feared their $2.1 billion in leases in the Chukchi Sea would be taken away.

Shell is still in litigation regarding its five-year plan to drill on the Outer Continental Shelf.

And The Ugly

 The secretary said he’s in no rush to make a decision on offshore drilling.

While some maintain that proper environment and wildlife protections cannot be balanced with responsible, job-creating offshore energy production, the reality is actually quite the opposite. The good news is that these critical facts continue to come to the surface, helping to move the needles of public opinion. The bad news? We ain’t there yet – not by a long shot. And without the help of policymakers in DC, we can’t expect to get there either. Not gonna lie: It’s a bit of a helpless feeling – having bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. control so much of your land, resources and destiny.

As the sun sets on 2009, it’s fair to predict that in a year from now, KTUU will be once again looking back at another year of OCS developments in Alaska. With hope, the story they’ll be telling then will be one of the huge amounts of homegrown energy that is reaching working families, seniors and small businesses; recounting the enormous uptick in economic activity in Alaska and the job created through offshore energy development; and demonstrating that both the environment and wildlife can coexist with offshore drilling. With hope. And this kick-ass blog.

“The enemy of conventional wisdom,” John Kenneth Galbraith, who coined the term, once wrote, “is not ideas, but the march of events.” And although it doesn’t appear as if the former U.S. ambassador to India was talking about offshore energy’s record of environmental stewardship when he wrote it, that doesn’t make his words any less relevant to an age-old debate that surrounds a fairly simple and straightforward question:

Does energy production offshore pollute our waters? Conventional wisdom might suggest that it does. Can energy production offshore actually help reduce pollution in our waters? Conventional wisdom would suppose that it can’t.

In this case, both would be wrong. We’ll let the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) pick it up from here:

New estimates indicate that the overall amount of petroleum released to the marine environment may be lower than earlier thought. This reflects, in part, advances over the last decade in marine transportation and oil and gas production techniques.

How much “lower than earlier thought” are we talking here? Quite a lot, according to NAS. Turns out that of the measurable hydrocarbon pollution in place in U.S. waters today, 63 percent of it comes from a single, devious source: Mother Nature, in the form of natural seepage. And how much comes from efforts to produce oil and natural gas offshore? Would you believe if it was less than one percent?

Conventional wisdom wouldn’t. Thankfully, the march of events and the efforts of a single man in California are starting to bend the narrative back.  

Go ahead: Just ask a fella named Bruce Allen how hard he’s worked over the years to find folks willing to listen to the facts: He’s testified on Capitol Hill, been published in newspapers across the country, and just this week, even teamed up with The Heritage Foundation to publish a detailed background primer on how increased access to energy offshore would actually help our natural environment, not harm it. From his paper:

The economic benefits from increased domestic hydrocarbon production are well known, but many erroneously assume they come at an environmental cost. In truth, there are opportunities … to achieve substantial environmental benefits from drilling as a consequence of reduced seepage of oil and natural gas into the air and water. Expanded offshore oil and gas production can genuinely be a win-win proposition.

Is it so difficult to understand how this would work? Billions of barrels of oil – and more trillions of units of natural gas – seeps naturally into our nation’s waters each year, literally bursting through the ocean floor and immediately assuming the form of natural pollution.

What if there existed a way – follow us here – that allowed us to access that energy BEFORE it bled out on its own? What if there existed a way to turn a form of pollution into a means of economic revitalization – in so doing, materially reducing the amount of oil that seeps naturally into our nation’s oceans?

Boy, that would be awesome. Wonder if we’ll ever come up with a method for doing it.

Thanksgiving is near. And while many families and friends will travel long and far to celebrate and give thanks for their blessings this holiday season, it’s safe to say that seasonal travelers will be universally unthankful for higher gas prices they will pay at the pump.

USA Today reports that AAA “expects 2% more travelers on roadways this year than last, for a total of 33.2 million people.” Under the headline “Higher gasoline prices greet Thanksgiving travelers,” America’s newspaper also reports:

Thanksgiving travelers will find gasoline prices much higher than last year with little hope for respite heading into the rest of the holiday season, oil and gas analysts say.

The national average for a gallon of regular gas was $2.64 on Monday, slightly less than a month ago but up 72 cents a gallon from a year ago, the auto club AAA says.

Increasing domestic energy production – especially in Alaska’s resource-rich Beaufort and Chukchi Seas – would help drive down and stabilize prices at the pump for every single American family. At the same time, safe, responsible, 21^st century energy exploration could create much-needed economic activity and hundreds – if not thousands – of good paying jobs at a time when they are most needed. With unemployment at a 26-year high, and real jobless rate near 17.5 percent, producing more homegrown energy cannot wait.

So how much energy do we have, and what’s stopping us?

Well, in a recent Washington Post column, George Will writes:

In 1914, the Bureau of Mines said that U.S. oil reserves would be exhausted by 1924. In 1939, the Interior Department said that the world had 13 years’ worth of petroleum reserves. Then a global war was fought, and the postwar boom was fueled. In 1951 Interior reported that the world had . . . 13 years of reserves. In 1970, the world’s proven oil reserves were an estimated 612 billion barrels. By 2006, more than 767 billion barrels had been pumped, and proven reserves were 1.2 trillion barrels. In 1977, scold in chief Jimmy Carter predicted that mankind “could use up all the proven reserves of oil in the entire world by the end of the next decade.” Since then the world has consumed three times more oil than was then in the world’s proven reserves.

But surely now America can quickly wean itself from hydrocarbons, adopting alternative energies — wind, solar, nuclear? No.

In his column entitled “Awash in fossil fuels,” Will adds this:

Today, wind and solar power combined are just one-sixth of 1 percent of American energy consumption.

Edward L. Morse, an energy official in Carter’s State Department, writes in Foreign Affairs that the world’s deep-water oil and gas reserves are significantly larger than was thought a decade ago, and high prices have spurred development of technologies — a drilling vessel can cost $1 billion — for extracting them.

Despite these huge, known energy resources – particularly in the Beaufort and the Chukchi – Washington and Secretary Ken Salazar’s Interior Department have failed to move forward with commonsense policies that will help realize America’s energy potentials.

And experts are speaking on this critical issue.

The American Petroleum Institute’s chief economist, Dr. John Felmy, writes about the economic benefits, the environmental safeguards and technological advancements the energy industry continues to make each day in today’s Fort Myers News-Press under the headline “Oil and gas drilling is the right solution for Florida right now”:

Today, rigs and operations are clean, green and safe. The oil and natural gas industry has reduced its environmental footprint and minimized any lasting impact on ecosystems or surrounding wildlife.

Offshore rigs are located far from the horizon, and advanced technologies enable nearly pristine development and delivery of natural resources.

After decades of investment and billions of dollars spent on research, companies can now access previously unreachable depths.

Informed lawmakers and pro-drilling advocates have it right.

Let’s protect our economy — and our shores — through safe, clean energy exploration.

Some state legislative leaders right here in the Last Frontier are working to encourage more oil production, even though our state’s offshore reserves – which would generate taxes, revenues and royalties, helping to fund schools, roads, bridges and hospitals – are largely controlled by Washington’s far-away, forceful grasp.

The Anchorage Daily News recently editorialized about the multi-tracked energy plans being advanced in Juneau. Under the headline “What now on energy?,” the paper writes this about the Senate energy proposal:

Other goals on the Senate’s list include promoting a North Slope gas pipeline, encouraging more oil production, preventing energy price gouging, and coordinating the state’s various energy programs. Few would argue with those goals, but Alaskans don’t necessarily agree on how to achieve them.

Just over 2 months into his position as Alaska’s chief executive, Governor Sean Parnell has been a man on a mission for increased Alaskan energy production. However, his commitment to affordable energy and more jobs in Alaska, through safely expanding energy development in Alaska’s resource-rich oceans, is nothing new. As the state’s lieutenant governor, he worked as tirelessly as he is now to promote Alaska’s energy industry and the economic and security benefits associated with it.

Having already penned op-eds and traveled all the way from Juneau to Washington to personally urge Congress to help fight for access to Alaskan energy, Gov. Parnell took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal on Friday to make his state’s case for responsible offshore energy exploration. Under the headline “Alaska Can Meet U.S. Energy Needs,” the governor wrote this:

The United States is now facing a decision on how to meet its future energy needs. In the coming months, the U.S. Department of the Interior will weigh whether to allow oil and gas exploration on Alaska’s Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) to be expanded. Such exploration could set the country on a clear and sustainable energy path for decades to come.

Alaska’s OCS contains an estimated 27 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That’s more than twice the amount of oil that has been produced on Alaska’s North Slope since the Trans Alaska Pipeline System went online in 1977. Counting its OCS reserves, Alaska likely has more than 30% of the nation’s recoverable oil and gas. Developing these resources will advance our national interests in three significant ways.

Parnell on Economic Benefits of Alaskan OCS Development

Alaska’s OCS contains an estimated 27 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 130 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. That’s more than twice the amount of oil that has been produced on Alaska’s North Slope since the Trans Alaska Pipeline System went online in 1977. Counting its OCS reserves, Alaska likely has more than 30% of the nation’s recoverable oil and gas. Developing these resources will advance our national interests in three significant ways.

First, increasing oil and gas exploration and production will create good-paying jobs for Americans, particularly if this is combined with the construction of a natural gas pipeline from Alaska to the lower 48 states. Increased production will reduce energy prices and lessen the kind of price volatility that contributed to our economic downturn last year.

Parnell on National Security Benefits of Alaskan OCS Development

Third, developing Alaska’s OCS will significantly advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests. As our population grows and our economy expands, we will have to get our energy from somewhere. Right now, too much of our oil comes from unstable regimes hostile to the United States—some of what we spend on Middle Eastern oil ends up funding global terrorist operations. Blocking OCS development will only exacerbate this national security threat.

Parnell on the Environmental Safeguards of Alaskan OCS Development

Some suggest that developing Alaska’s offshore reserves, especially in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, will harm the environment. However, my state has a strong record of responsible offshore oil and gas development that demonstrates sensitivity to the environment and respect for Native American culture. Over more than three decades, 84 oil and gas wells have been drilled in Alaska’s OCS without incident. The federal government has also spent $300 million since 1973 studying Alaska’s waters to ensure that oil and gas development occurs responsibly. Moreover, without increased domestic production, we will continue to import more oil and gas than we have to from countries that have far weaker environmental laws than we do.

The governor makes a compelling closing case in his Journal column, noting that:

The U.S. has long supported offshore oil and gas development in other countries. The Obama administration is even offering political and financial support for Brazil to develop its offshore oil fields. If we are willing to finance offshore development overseas, certainly we should be able to support it domestically.

President Barack Obama and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar have both acknowledged that greater energy conservation and increased use of renewable resources will not do enough to meet our energy needs unless we also increase oil and gas production. The responsible development of Alaska’s OCS is essential and should be part of the administration’s energy plan.

But it’s not just Gov. Parnell that is highlighting the economic and national security benefits that come along with increased offshore energy production. In yesterday’s Richmond Times-Dispatch, Vince Haley, vice president for policy at American Solutions, wrote this in a column entitled “Offshore Drilling Will Create Jobs in Virginia”:

Last September, the United States Congress chose to support American jobs and American energy by allowing the ban on offshore drilling to expire. For the first time in more than 25 years, drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) became legal, offering America the opportunity for more energy, more security, and more jobs.

Unfortunately, the current administration was quick to slow down this opportunity to create jobs and decrease our reliance on foreign sources of oil. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced in February that he would extend the public comment period by six months, effectively prolonging the now-expired ban on offshore energy development in America. And recently, Secretary Salazar hinted he might delay the process even further and not make a decision on drilling until 2012.

This obstructive action has serious national security consequences while restricting job creation and economic growth. Offshore drilling has the potential to generate an astonishing $273 billion per year in additional economic growth and create millions of new, high-paying jobs. It would also generate almost $75 billion in revenue per year for federal, state, and local governments in the form of royalties and new tax revenues.

Echoing Gov. Parnell’s point that the federal government has helped finance offshore energy production in Brazil, while keeping in place a de facto ban on domestic energy production, Haley wrote this, and noted the overwhelming public support for increasing energy exploration offshore here at home:

At a time of widespread job loss, the federal government could help create jobs here at home instead of Brazil by simply accelerating the administrative process that would allow drilling to begin.

Despite the bureaucratic delay, hundreds of thousands of Americans submitted their comments to the Department of Interior — in support of offshore exploration. The comment period ended on Sept. 21, after which the government will tally the comments and decide if any leasing at all will take place between 2010 and 2015, including whether Virginia will be given permission to create jobs for its citizens.

As Secretary Salazar continues to move forward with the 5-year offshore energy production planning process, it would be in his best interest to listen to folks like Gov. Parnell and Mr. Haley – as well as the hundreds of thousands of everyday Americans that are concerned about rising energy prices and our increased dependence on foreign sources of energy. Responsibly and safely producing more American energy offshore – particularly in the known resource-rich areas like Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi Seas – is in our nation’s best interest.