US House approves bill to open ANWR to oil, gas drilling

Washington (Platts)--25May2006

The House of Representatives Thursday voted 225 to 201 to open Alaska's
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, but the bill faces a tough
fight for passage in the US Senate, where it faces a certain filibuster.

Twenty-seven Democrats joined 198 Republicans to support the legislation
to allow leasing of about 2,000 acres of ANWR. Proponents of opening the
refuge claim ANWR's development would generate jobs, reduce US dependence on
foreign oil and generate hundreds of billions of dollars in royalties and
taxes for the US Treasury.

Development of the refuge, which is estimated to hold between 5 billion to
16 billion barrels of recoverable reserves, has been a long-term goal of the
Bush administration.

Opponents argue that drilling would harm the environment, and claim there
is not enough oil in the refuge to justify ruining the habitat of the region's
caribou, polar bears and other animals. Oil companies say they could use
horizontal drilling and other advanced techniques to limit the development
"footprint" and prevent damage to the environment.

Both the House and the Senate have in recent years passed ANWR legislation
but never the same bill. While a slim majority of the 100-member Senate favors
development, the measure has never garnered the 60 votes necessary to avoid a
filibuster during the regular legislative process. A filibuster is a
procedural tool that allows opposing legislators to speak indefinitely on a
bill, thereby preventing a vote from being called.

The Senate has approved ANWR drilling as part of a budget bill, which
cannot be filibustered, and requires only a simple majority vote. The House,
which has passed ANWR a dozen times through the standard legislative process,
has abstained from approving it as part of a budget.

--Cathy Landry, cathy_landry@platts.com

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