Alaska State Legislature

News From The House Majority

Ken Freeman, Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801
Phone: (907) 465-3804
web site: http://www.akrepublicans.org
Actuality line: 1-800-478-6540

House Pushes For Renewed Development of National Petroleum Reserve

For Immediate Release: February 7, 1997 Contact: Rep. Joe Green (907) 465-4931

JUNEAU - The Alaska House of Representatives passed HJR 12 Friday, a resolution urging the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior to re-institute an oil and gas leasing program in the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA).

Representative Joe Green, sponsor of the resolution, said leasing in the NPRA is in the state's best interest for three reasons:

  1. The economic activity associated with oil and gas leasing, exploration, and production benefits Alaskans;
  2. oil produced in the NPRA would be transported through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, helping to keep the pipeline open, and potentially enhancing the commercial viability of existing and future oil development projects on the North Slope;
  3. the State of Alaska will receive 50% of the revenues from oil and gas production.

"The federal government should resume lease sales and encourage the industry to explore for oil and gas in the NPRA," said Green. "It is important that the Alaska Legislature send a unified message to the Department of the Interior that we support lease sales being scheduled."

Representative Mark Hodgins, Chair of the House Oil and Gas Committee said the Legislature will push for resuming oil and gas exploration in NPRA but will not do so in exchange for ANWR.

"We do strongly support renewed development in the National Petroleum Reserve but want to make it explicitly clear to the federal government that this in no way diminishes our support for developing the coastal plain of ANWR," said Hodgins.

"We have demonstrated that development can be done in an environmentally safe manner on the North Slope," said Green. The principles developed in Prudhoe to protect the environment will apply to exploration and development in NPRA and ANWR."

Green said there were four oil and gas lease sales in the NPRA during the early 1980's.

Broadcast Note: An audio actuality is available by calling 1-800-478-6540

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