Sen. Lisa Murkowski Introduces Bill to Directionally-Drill for ANWR Oil

I was curious why no one had suggested this earlier. Must be ghastly-expensive.

– U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, today introduced legislation that would allow the use of advanced directional drilling to tap the vast energy potential of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain without disturbing the unique characteristics of the area. The bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, would allow access to the coastal plain’s oil and natural gas resources through the use of underground directional drilling from state-owned lands to the west of the refuge and state waters from the north. “Everybody wins with this bill – America improves its energy security and the conservation community is ensured that there will be no visible impact on the refuge,” Murkowski said. “I urge those previously opposed to oil and gas exploration in ANWR to take a fresh look at this issue and show a willingness to compromise.” The legislation seeks to find a compromise with those groups concerned with preserving the 1.5 million acre coastal plain while recognizing the need to improve our energy security and economy by meeting more of our energy needs with domestic production.

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Directional drilling would allow energy companies to reach oil deposits up to eight miles away with no surface occupancy in the refuge. Production platforms on state lands and waters would be far away from the calving areas most used by the Porcupine caribou herd that visits the coastal plain in summer.

Again, I figure this is very expensive to do and that's why it hasn't been proposed before.

But now that it has been: Okay, liberals. Are you for ANWR or are you just determined to block energy production?

posted by Ace at 05:06 PM

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