Senate to Try Again on Alaska Oil in '06 - Domenici
Date: 22-Dec-05
Country: USA
Author: Tom Doggett
"It remains a top priority," the aide told Reuters soon after Senate Democrats blocked approval of a massive $453 billion defense spending bill which included ANWR drilling.
"We're cooked for this year," she added.
Legislative language to open the Alaskan refuge to oil exploration and production could be added to an annual budget bill for fiscal 2007, she said.
The refuge is about the size of South Carolina and may hold as much as 10 billion barrels of economically recoverable oil at today's prices. Oil companies have sought to gain access to ANWR for decades.
"I fear our gasoline prices will begin climbing again next year and I'm certain our reliance on foreign oil will continue to climb in the coming years if we don't act soon to produce more of our own oil," Domenici said in a statement.
The American Petroleum Institute, the trade group for big oil companies, said the Senate's action was a "disservice" to American consumers and weakened national security.
"Sadly, a marked increase in production of US crude oil and natural gas now remains on hold at a time when global competitors for crude oil like China and India are aggressively moving forward," the API said in a statement.