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.
