Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, chairwoman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, expressed confidence Thursday morning that drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, a longtime Republican goal, could raise $1 billion over 10 years to help pay for tax reform.
“The first 10 years are just the start of a 40-year period where responsible production raises billions of dollars in revenues for our country every year,” Murkowski said at the opening of a three-panel hearing to discuss the topic. “We will see the benefits over decades, not just over the 10-year budget window.”
Byron Mallott, Alaska’s lieutenant governor who appeared at the hearing, predicted drilling could raise “many multiples of that number [$1 billion].”
A budget resolution passed by the House and Senate last month includes instructions for lawmakers to create legislation to raise $1 billion over a decade by opening the “1002” section of the refuge to drilling, to help pay for tax reform.
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee could vote to advance legislation achieving that as early as next week, with a markup scheduled for Wednesday.
Democrats for decades have successfully blocked Republican efforts to permit drilling in the refuge, arguing that doing so would harm native species such as caribou and polar bears.
Murkowski sought to downplay the environmental risks.
“We are not asking to develop all of the 1002 area,” Murkowski said. “We are asking for 2,000 acres, about one ten-thousandth of ANWR. We have waited nearly 40 years for the right technology to come along for a footprint small enough for environment to be respected. This is not a choice between energy and the environment. We are past that.”
Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington, the committee’s top Democrat, said she doubted Republicans could raise $1 billion over 10 years, especially with current low oil prices.
“We are here today because someone came up with the ludicrous idea to take a sliver out of the wildlife refuge to pay for tax reform,” Cantwell said. “I almost want to call this ‘caribou for millionaires.’ I find it hard to believe there will be an economic incentive to drill in the refuge. There is no new science that says we don’t have to worry about this wildlife, no new science to say oil will take up a smaller footprint. I am disturbed.”
The Interior Department in September lifted restrictions on seismic studies to probe how much crude oil is under the refuge.
Greg Sheehan, the principal deputy director of the Fish and Wildlife Service, said the Trump administration supports the Republican push to open the refuge.
“If production is authorized by Congress, the administration believes this will bolster our nation’s energy independence and national security, provide economic opportunity for Alaskans and provide much-needed revenue to both the state of Alaska and federal government,” Sheehan said.
He said if Congress permitted drilling in the refuge, it would be a long process. He said lease sales could occur in four to five years, with drilling as far out as seven to 10 years.
