Forget 10 Years--Drilling ANWR Would Pay Off Right Away

I would disagree with the Senator.

First, it really would take several, if not 10 years for oil to get to market, and even a few years to start any kind of meaningful job creation due to permitting and logistic delays.

The Senator indicates the ability to drill horizontally to a radius of over 5 miles; the longest horizontal wells in Alaska fields have been just over 2 miles and have been plagued with problems.

I believe any attempt to open ANWR to drilling is simply a ploy to gain access to a crown jewel of nature; if they can open ANWR, then no place on the continent will be safe from the inroads of oil/gas exploration and extraction. The late Senator Stevens tried for years to put that feather in his cap. What a legacy to strive for; "Yes, kids, I am the one who opened up the wildest places in the USA to open season on drilling. Sorry, nothing beautiful, wild, untouched for you to see any more. You should have been there!"

THere are already 20 million acres of leases directly to the west of ANWR, and not one oil company I know of is breaking down the doors to begin drilling there, and there are proven reserves there, as well. NPR-A has existed for over 50 years, has proven reserves, and nobody is clamoring over that one yet either. We have ready access to drilling already.

The narrow Coastal Plain of ANWR is an irreplaceable piece of pristine real estate (if you don't look at the detritus left behind by oil exploration parties in the 1950s and 60s). This area is unique in its ability to support life; although it rests along the northern edge of ANWR it is the biological heart of the whole refuge; it is here the massive Porcupine caribou herd calves and rears its young. NO other stretch of Alaskan of Canadian coastal plain is as biologically productive. No other stretch is even available to these caribou. The Gwitchin nation, which straddles eastern Alaska and western Canada, relies on this herd for their sustenance, livelihood, and culture. There are in place international treaties protecting the habitat of these caribou, including the Coastal Plain.

The idea that oil production can be kept to a 2000 acre footprint (out of the 1.2 million acres in the Coastal Plain) belies the fact that those 2000 acres would be spread all over the refuge, consisting of 5-10 acre pads and gravel pits connected by hundreds of miles of roads and pipelines.

Once an area has been opened to oil extraction, it is lost to wilderness use forever (in human terms). The fields at Prudhoe Bay are massive, sprawling industrial parks. THere is no way that land would ever revert to a wild state once that infrastructure is no longer in service.

There is an innate value to having at least one spot on this earth where we humans have not screwed it up. This is that one place.

The USA could SAVE 10 billion barrels of oil if the legislature had the guts to enact 50 mpg standards on all vehicles and subsidize renewable energy to make electric cars more readily available.

Karl Monetti of AK 3:31PM November 04, 2011

Yes It is time to drill in ANWR. We need to get away from foreign oil and get our people back to work. We are too dependent on other countries and need to get our house in order.

Glenn Colburn of AK 2:16PM November 04, 2011

Yes, drill it. We are too dependant on foreign oil. Alaska oil companies adhere to very strict environmental and safety policies. Wildlife and oil have coexisted for a long time without issues. Our current fuel prices are over $4 per gallon. People in the bush pay a lot more. This is development is very important for Alaskans.

Becky Morgan of AK 2:04PM November 04, 2011

Question: Where can one find a gigantic oil supply on land within a very short distance of Prudhoe Bay, which could be put into production in a relatively short time with infinitely lower environmental risk than offshore Arctic seas?

Answer: The small portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge comprised of a windswept, barren coastal plain replete with surface oil seeps formed into tar formations, which comprises perhaps America's most notable environmental sacred cow.

Under this rather compact area, geologists estimate a resource of somewhere between 10 and 15 billion barrels of oil. Using the lesser estimate, this could provide production of one million barrels a day for about twenty seven years; easily replenishing the pipeline. Calculating with a price of $ 80.00/barrel, this would reduce the U. S. trade deficit by over $ 29 billion/year.

Unfortunately, environmentalists' opposition has caused oil companies to give up on this project, but if there were a modicum of common sense in U. S. environmental and energy policies, producing from the ANWR coastal plain would be a no brainer.

Sincerely,

M. A. Kaufman, Geologist, P. Eng.

PO Box 14336

M. A. kaufman of WA 1:16PM November 04, 2011