Hastings Visits National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska
June 15, 2011
Governor Parnell joined Rep. Hastings for an Alaskan energy tour, including the NPR-A. iwht Rep. Don Young on Thursday, June 9, 2011 The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold a legislative hearing on the bill on Thursday, June 16th. The NPR-A was specifically designated as a petroleum reserve for the nation in 1923 and again in 1981 when stewardship was passed from the Navy to the Department of the Interior. According to recent estimates by the U.S. Geological Survey, there are over 2.7 billion barrels of oil and 114.36 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the NPR-A. President Obama in his weekly address on May 14th called for annual lease sales in the NPR-A. However, NPR-A lease sales alone will have little impact if bureaucratic delays continue to hamper for years the construction of necessary roads, bridges and pipelines needed to transport the energy out of the Reserve once it is produced. For example, ConocoPhillips has been waiting since 2008 for a permit to build a bridge and pipeline over a river in the NPR-A in order to transport oil and natural gas out of a ready-to-produce field and into the Trans Alaskan Pipeline System (TAPS). “This legislation aims to unwind the tangled web of government regulations that prevent us from creating jobs and harnessing our own American energy resources in Alaska. President Obama supports issuing leases in the NPR-A, which is a positive step; but permits needed to turn leases into real energy remain stalled in bureaucratic inaction. What good is issuing leases and producing oil and natural gas if they can’t be delivered to the American people? The NPR-A contains a tremendous amount of energy resources and we should be developing those resources, not moving American energy production backwards through government obstruction. We should unlock the full energy and job creating potential of the NPR-A, instead of watching jobs go overseas and buying more oil from unfriendly foreign countries.” said Chairman Hastings. Governor Sean Parnell welcomed the efforts of Congressman Doc Hastings (R-WA) to ensure responsible development of the resources in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). Parnell said in a prepared statement, “I appreciate Chairman Hastings’ good work in advancing domestic energy production in Alaska, which will not just benefit our state and our citizens, but reduce our dependence on foreign oil,” Governor Parnell said. “Alaska has massive supplies of energy, and we can responsibly develop them if the federal government would choose to partner with us rather than drag their feet and lock up our land.” Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Don Young (R-AK) said, “This important legislation is needed now more than ever. Responsible exploration and development of our resources is the key to the economic future of this country, and a step in the direction of energy independence. However, the amount of regulations to navigate and hoops to jump through are so cumbersome that it all but paralyzes resource development. Saying we are going to pursue energy exploration is meaningless if we can’t get the proper permitting in a timely manner. We can’t sit around and talk about energy development any longer, we need to DO something about it, and the only way to do that is to cut through the red tape. The Trans-Alaskan Pipeline is currently running at only a third of its capacity even though it is surrounded by oil-rich fields and runs the inevitable risk of being shut-down; this would surely spell disaster. Americans deserve a government that clears the way for their prosperity, not stands in the way of it. This legislation ensures efficiency in resource development and helps put Americans to work, securing their energy future.” Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado's 5th District) said, “The problem facing oil and natural gas developers is not lack of resources to curb our foreign dependence, but a lack of clear policy. There are few more egregious examples of bureaucratic red tape stifling development of our domestic resources than what is happening in the NPR-A. It can and should be the policy of this government to develop the resources in our NPR-A quickly, efficiently and responsibly. This will reduce our foreign dependence, create jobs and keep our revenue here at home.” Quoting a news release, specifically the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act will:
Governor Parnell has set a goal of increasing Trans Alaska Pipeline System oil throughput to one million barrels a day in the next 10 years.
Related:
Edited by: Mary Kauffman
Sources of News:
E-mail your news &
photos to editor@sitnews.us
|
||
