Blogger Briefing on ANWR

Later this morning I'll be attending a briefing for bloggers by Interior Secretary Gale Norton over energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, better known around Washington, D.C. as ANWR. Though this is an energy issue that's not directly related to nuclear, many of the issues that our industry grapples with get replayed in the debate over oil and natural gas exploration.

Here's an excerpt from a Q&A that Secretary Norton did with the Desert Sun last week:

Q: Some argue that ANWR's not worth it because it's just a year's worth of the United States' oil needs. It's not really that much is it?

A: It's absurdly unrealistic to think that all a nation's energy for several decades is going to come from one source. You need to have a variety of different sources. ANWR would provide 15 to 20 percent of domestic oil production by the time it would be fully developed. That is hugely significant. What we've just gone through in the last few months - with loss of offshore oil production and the very high prices that we have seen - is a result of losing about as much oil production on an average day as we would get from ANWR.

(snip)

Q: Who in Congress is working against ANWR, and how is the administration ever going to get it opened up?

A: We've had such a dramatic lesson in the last few months about our energy supply in this country. We have recognized the need for diversity of supply, so that not everything is coming from hurricane country. We have also in the last few years, for the first time, seen other countries emerge as strong competitors for purchasing oil on the international market. China's growth has been a major factor in increasing the cost of energy. I was stunned to see a report predicting that the Chinese economy would surpass the size of the West's economy in about 2041. The United States needs to get serious about using its own resources.

So, in a real sense, the debate over ARWR is central to the debate over energy diversity and energy security -- something we're familiar with here at NEI. As Secretary Norton said, we learned the hard way how overreliance on oil natural gas from the Gulf region left America vulnerable to price shocks, something we're going to pay for significantly over the course of this Winter.

Come back this afternoon for a summary of the meeting.

UPDATE: Lucky us, we're here live in Sect. Norton's conference room at DOI. Stay tuned.

HERE WE GO: Paraphrasing Sect. Norton here (click here for audio (.wav file, approximately 30 minutes)):

Use to thinking about powerful forces on the supply side. China and India are now emerging as powers on the demand side. The US needs to realize we are entering a new phase where we are not the only dominant purchases in international oil markets.

Stresses importance of diverse energy supplies -- hurricanes demonstrated this. Strategic petroleum reserve helped, but there was strain. ANWR can add 1 million bbl. per day.

For long term -- need to look where we can develop domestic energy supplies.

ANWR the best option -- largest on-share untapped source of oil.

Place we can explore and produce energy with least impact on environment -- despite strong opposition. What you hear isn't "develop energy somewhere else," you hear "don't develop the energy."

U.S. will not drop 1 million bbl/day over the long-haul. If we don't get it from ANWR, it will come from international sources where environment won't be protected at all.

Visited North Slope of Alaska, and seen what it's like: refers to picture of frozen tundra.

CONTINUING: Sect. now discussing climate conditions in ANWR. She's originally from Colorado, and even she was taken aback by how harsh the weather is.

Effects: In an environment like this, folks are self-contained and have little environmental impact. Environment is protected this way.

Also means you can use ice roads to bring in equipment and do work --they melt, don't effect the landscape.

CONTINUING: Explaining how drilling affects the environment -- actual footprint of effect is iimited to the wellhead -- about the size of a car.

Tecchnology would allow wellsite to be at the approx. position of U.S. Capitol and reach any area in District. Equipment can reach 4-5 miles from wellhead without disrupting the landscape. Sophisticated and stringent regulations to access this energy. "Most stringent" applied to oil and gas operations anywhere.

Now showing maps of ANWR and how much oil it can produce: estimate is 10.4 billion barrels per day -- roughly the equivalent of 41 of the 48 U.S. states. (See map.)

Pointing out that estimates often undershoot actual production. EX: Prudhoe Bay actually exceeded estimates.

Been on radar since Carter Administration. Scientific work has been done for many decades, and was re-analyzed during the Clinton Administration.

Stresses that drilling will be limited to Winter months.

MESSAGE: If you believe moving in the direction of energy independence is a worthy goal, we need to look at ANWR. Arguments on protecting environment based on old information. We would require newest technologies used at ANWR.

What about Caribou? Caribou population around Alaska Pipeline rose from 5,000 to 31,000 head. They've co-existed with old technology. Can't say there won't be an effect, but you can monitor and adjust things based on experience. Research says won't have a significant effect on the Caribou herd.

Will be limiting surface footprint of ANWR to 2,000 acres.

Think of a front page of a newspaper: The state of Alaska would make up about 6 columns of text. ANWR would take up just one letter in those six columns.

In total: ANWR is the equivalent of 15% of U.S. domestic oil production, or about as much as the state of Texas produces onshore.

CONTINUING: Balance of Payments Issue: What are we sending overseas to countries that are not friendly to us, rather than keeping that money here. ANWR at estimated production levels: 1 million per/day, $50/bbl. Keep $1.5 billion in U.S. Half a trillion over the lifetime of production. Means lots of jobs in the U.S. instead of overseas. Will have significant ripple effect on the economy.

THE OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF: Supportive of legislation that would allow revenue sharing with coastal states (needs to be worked out, but Admin. is supportive of the concept. Current system needs to be updated. On-shore, revenue is split 50/50.). Important to future of our nation's economy to have more natural gas. Need to remember that natural gas is a domestic market, and we must develop domestic resources.

Hurricanes threated 75% of offshore platforms this Summer. Environmental damage was minimal. Not a single wellhead shutoff valve failed. Yes, there was some oil pollution from onshore facilities and damage to platforms. "No oil reached shore from federal platforms." Those with serious concerns about oil pollution need to know: We now have the technology to prevent those kinds of problems.

HOW CAN YOU SUPPORT ANWR? Public has heard a lot from environmental activists on ANWR. People need to contact their representative to push for security of America's energy supply.

ANWR has been important priority for Bush Admin. from the beginning. Think it needs to be part of the Budget reconciliation package. Thinks it makes sense.

75% of Alaskans support ANWR exploration. END CONFERENCE CALL.

More later, including audio.

POSTSCRIPT: First off, thanks to Secretary Norton and her staff for hosting us at DOI. It's good to see Blogger briefings like these becoming the norm around town, and they need to happen more often.

As for the event itself, it's striking just how similar the story is throughout the American energy industry. For too long, we've let short-term concerns get in the way of longer term priorities, and it's had dire consequences for our nation. On oil exploration, we've restricted operations to such an extent that we're essentially importing oil that we could be drilling and pumping right here in the U.S. And the story is much the same when it comes to natural gas supplies, as supply has become constricted and drilling on the Outer Continental Shelf has been considered out of bounds.

However, it is just as striking to note that searching for solutions across a diverse range of fuel supplies can reinforce one another. New nuclear build could help relieve some pricing pressure on natural gas markets, which would then open up supply for industry and home heating. But we know that isn't enough in isolation, so it is still necessary to continue exploration for new sources of natural gas. And we can say the same with petroleum, as the emergence of the hydrogen generated by nuclear energy could help relieve pricing pressure on petroleum markets.

What's really needed is a way to change the terms of debate. Here at NEI Nuclear Notes, we've written on more than a few occassions that we can't choose between nuclear energy and renewables because we're going to need both. And whatever alternate technologies we develop, whether it's hydrogen fuel cells or mass production of plug-in hybrid vehicles, the need for continued production and exploration of natural gas and oil aren't going away. The fact is, we're going to need every source of energy, and conservation measure as well, in order to make it work.

It's a debate we need to continue. Keep coming back to NEI Nuclear Notes for more.

REMINDER: Be sure to check out all of the action over at NAM Blog with Pat Cleary and his crew. Just go to the top and keep scrolling down. And to see what the rest of the Blogosphere says about ANWR, check in on Technorati.

Technorati tags: Energy, Electricity, Environment, Oil, Natural Gas