If there is one thing I have learned, it is that American voters are incredibly smart and savvy. I know this after having spent decades in public service, both in our nation's capital and in my beautiful home state of Wyoming. I also know this because poll after poll show voters comprehend how critical energy is to our economy.
Alaskans understand the importance of energy better than most. The oil and natural gas industry supports one-third of the state's workers and provides a vast majority of the state's budget. For those of us in the Lower 48, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System remains a vital part of our nation's energy security, supplying about 500,000 barrels of oil each day to consumers on the West Coast.
But, Alaska is unable to meet its full energy potential. The federal government has restricted access to some of the world's most abundant oil resources in Alaska, including onshore areas of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and offshore areas of the Chukchi and Beaufort seas.
Experts estimate that U.S. Arctic waters hold 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This could heat every home in America for more than 30 years. Moreover, studies show that opening these resources to exploration could generate nearly 55,000 jobs nationally and $193 billion in government revenues over the next 50 years.
Development of U.S. Arctic offshore resources will not only bolster our nation's energy security. By permitting safe, scientifically sound Arctic offshore energy programs, the United States can advance its leadership and set a positive example in the Arctic, an area of increasing geopolitical importance.
The Obama administration has the ability to move us forward in the Arctic. While it's positive news that the Department of the Interior has taken action to resolve legal challenges with an existing lease sale in the Chukchi Sea, not all of the agency's actions have been supportive of Alaska offshore energy.
Notably, the federal government's recently proposed offshore leasing program falls short of realizing our tremendous opportunities in the Arctic. Off Alaska, the administration chose to further reduce areas for analysis, potentially stymieing the development of these prodigious resources.
Needless to say, the administration's Arctic policy has been a mixed bag offering little guidance or encouragement to companies looking to explore and develop offshore resources. Forthcoming decisions about existing drilling programs and new Arctic-specific regulations will affect the trajectory of Arctic development. The administration would be wise to promote performance-based regulations that will best allow new technologies and practices to adapt to the unique Arctic environment.
While a near-term price drop may have shifted producers away from higher-cost Arctic plays, a number of countries have made long-term efforts to maintain a presence in the Arctic due to the size of the resource base and its strategic importance. Indeed, as other Arctic nations like Norway and Russia enthusiastically advance Arctic offshore energy programs, the United States remains on the sidelines. To remedy this, the federal government must provide a clear path forward to allow companies to realize our energy and economic potential.
Minimizing our reliance on other, often unstable, countries increases our security, ensures the stability of our energy supply, and reduces expenses for households, businesses and governments alike. Even more important, bringing more of our energy supply "in house" allows us to control every facet of production from initial exploration to final delivery to the consumer. That's a win-win for all Americans.
It's why I've said many times before that we need to support an all-of-the-above energy strategy. This is the epitome of smart and savvy, and something the American voter clearly understands. The question is whether our politicians and policymakers do. We need to take our country to the next level vis-à-vis our economic and energy security. The only way to do this is to safely and responsibly explore our own offshore energy resources, particularly off Alaska.
Randall Luthi is president of the National Ocean Industries Association, America's offshore energy industry. He is an attorney and rancher from western Wyoming, and served for 12 years in the Wyoming House of Representatives. He served as director of the Minerals Management Service at the U.S. Department of the Interior from July 2007 through January 2009.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com.