Arctic reserve to open wide to oil, gas exploration

Houston Chronicle ^ | November 21, 2003 | AP

[Cincinatus' Wife]

WASHINGTON -- The Bush administration intends to open 8.8 million acres of Alaska's North Slope to oil and gas development, including areas considered environmentally sensitive.

The Interior Department was to announce the oil and gas leasing plan today, as the Senate is to take a critical vote on an energy bill endorsed by President Bush but denying his top energy priority: opening an Alaskan wildlife refuge to drilling.

Geologists believe the 22.5 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska may contain 6 billion to 13 billion barrels of oil.

Henri Bisson, the Alaska director for the department's Bureau of Land Management, in a statement obtained Thursday by the Associated Press, said he expects a lease sale by the bureau in June.

Environmentalists said the plan would jeopardize habitats that provide sanctuary for wildlife but were set aside in the 1920s for energy development.

[EQAndyBuzz]

Oh no, cheaper gas and a reduced dependence on foreign oil!

Gasps.... The RATA will have a field day with this.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Why some greens favor energy bill***But while environmentalists steam, the surprise is that some renewable energy trade groups are actually excited over the money the bill is likely to send their way. Indeed, the bill threatens to drive a wedge between green power and environmental activists.***

[backhoe]

Well, thank God for small favors- now how about drilling the lower 49, and offshore, and opening up our coal reserves, and more new nuclear power plants...

[putupon]

About time.

So what about ANWR? Two years after the attack by our friends the Saudis, still no drilling.

Dubya ain't scared of the enviro-wackos, is he?

[expat_panama]

Excellent post.  

Maybe it's just my imagination but there seems to be a pattern here.  GWB announces something bad (campaign finance, proscription drugs, steel tariffs, etc.) with a lot of fanfare and noise.   Months later without so much as a 'by your leave' it's to be reversed (steel tariffs, Alaska oil).

Anybody else see this?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Anybody else see this?

I sure do.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

So what about ANWR?

All in good time.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Check the highlights at the LINK in Post#3.

[expat_panama]

Well I can live with that.  He can make all the bad noises he wants, just so long as what he does makes sense.

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Hehehe...

[OXENinFLA]

Cloture Vote today @10:30 in the senate on the Energy Bill.

[Genghis con]

A question for the greenfreaks: Mr Greenfreak just how often do you visit the North Slope? How often do you visit
a gas pump ?

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Bump!

[Vaduz]

Because it's smarter to use outher countries supplies up before we use oru supplies up right?.

[backhoe]

That's very interesting... just FYI, when our plant- McManus- ran full-time some years ago, it burned powdered coal, and produced zero smoke. This was in the 1960's, and technology has progressed in leaps & bounds since then.

[sauropod]

ANWR isn't enough for these pukes?