News from the Senate Majority
Alaska State Legislature

Wendy Lindskoog, Senate Majority Press Secretary
State Capitol
Juneau, AK 99801-1182
Phone: 907/465-4582
http://www.akrepublicans.org
Broadcast Actualities: 800/478-6540

20^th Legislature Affirms Support for State Areawide Oil & Gas Leasing Program

For Immediate Release: April 20, 1998 Contact: Kristy Tibbles, Staff to Senator Drue Pearce, at (907) 465-4747.

Juneau – The House Monday voted unanimously to pass a resolution that verifies the 20^th Alaska State Legislature’s support for the State’s current Areawide Leasing Program. The Areawide Leasing Program was created by legislation passed unanimously by the 19^th Alaska State Legislature.

Senator Drue Pearce (R-Anchorage), Co-Chair of Senate Finance and sponsor of Senate Concurrent Resolution 20, said the current Areawide Leasing Program is under attack by special interest groups opposed to any oil and gas development. "Allowing a very small minority of people to threaten a program that is a positive component of the State’s oil and gas policy would be a major step backward," Pearce said.

"We put areawide leasing in place in 1996 to provide a more cost effective and efficient approach to offering lease sales in areas of Alaska already extensively leased," Pearce said. "While not changing the public process, the new State policy for areawide leases will prove to be more cost effective for people doing business in Alaska. Maintaining this program is just one more way we can ensure that the State’s economy remains stable so jobs are available for Alaskans."

The Areawide Leasing Program allows entire regions, such as the Cook Inlet Basin that has been leased extensively over the years, to be leased yearly in an areawide block. This helps reduce redundant Best Interest determinations by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that were required each time a lease was re-offered for the bidding process. As a result of the new law, once a finding has been written for an areawide sale, DNR can then conduct a lease sale in that same area each year for up to ten years without having to repeat the entire Best Interest Finding process.

The resolution is supported by The Alaska Support Industry Alliance, the Resource Development Council and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. Reasons for support of the Areawide Leasing Program include:

• It is a cost and labor saving approach to offering lease sales in areas which have already had extensive leasing. It costs DNR nearly $200,000 to orchestrate the Best Interest Finding for each lease sale. This process includes detailed research and analysis, along with a number of public comment opportunities that begin years prior to the sale. By accomplishing this task for an entire region, the state gains efficiencies that will save millions of public tax dollars and man-hours in the long run.
  
• It allows businesses to plan ahead by providing a consistent and predictable schedule of annual sales.
  
• It makes sense in an extremely competitive global market. Alaska’s competitors are resource-rich countries abroad with policies and practices that make them much more attractive to investors. Areawide leasing will go a long way in keeping Alaska competitive.

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