ANWR drilling faces tough time in Senate

WASHINGTON, May 26 (UPI) -- The House-approved measure to allow oil drilling in the Arctic Natural Wildlife Refuge faces near-certain death in the Senate, but has prompted debate on what opening up the protected Alaskan region means for future supplies and oil prices.

The House voted Thursday 225-201 for the bill to allow oil drilling and other forms of energy exploration in 2,000 acres of ANWR, the 12th such vote in the past 10 years. But the proposal, which would end a 26-year ban on drilling in the refuge, has little likelihood of passing the Senate where it lacks the 60 votes needed to defeat a filibuster.

Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., introduced the legislation to open up energy exploration in what some say is the biggest untapped oil deposit in the country. The move comes partly because of high gasoline prices ahead of the November elections.

Pombo and 13 members of the House who support the measure said in a statement Wednesday that drilling in the area could add up to 1.5 million barrels of oil each day to the U.S. supply, helping lessen the country's reliance on foreign oil. The bill contains an export ban, mandating that any new oil discovered in the more than 2 million acre ANWR remain in the United States.

"It is more than the daily excess supply in today's global market; and it is nearly equal to the amount we import from Saudi Arabia every day," they wrote in a statement Wednesday.

Pombo also added that any drilling projects would create jobs for American workers, helping to drive down the price of gas, which is at near-record levels ahead of the summer travel season.

"If we have more reliable, more stable sources of supply, we will be in better shape to meet our needs and not continue to have price volatility," said Ray Connolly, a spokesman for the American Petroleum Institute, which represents the American oil industry.

But environmental groups that oppose the bill say any oil found in the region would do little in the long term to combat skyrocketing U.S. gas prices -- and would destroy a priceless natural resource.

Annie Strickler, a spokeswoman for the Sierra Club, said current estimates on the oil reserves in the area would only save consumers 1 cent per gallon of gas in the next decade.

"It's a spectacular national treasure that we should be setting aside for future generations," she said.

Instead, she said, the federal government should focus on tightening efficiency standards that require manufacturers -- from cars to home appliances -- to make more energy-efficient goods.

"If we had federal standards it would save Americans money," Strickler said.

Connolly of API agreed that an impending gas crisis required fuel sources beyond what is now available, but saw drilling for oil in ANWR as part of a more comprehensive solution.

"It is one of a number of important measures that could ... have a beneficial impact, not just on the supply situation but on the price situation," Connolly said.

Twelve similar bills have been voted on in the House over the past 10 years. In recent years, the Senate has also passed similar pieces of legislation to allow drilling in ANWR, but Congress was unable to agree on final legislation.

"Congress is once again wasting time on a dead-end issue," Strickler said, adding that she thought it was unlikely that this latest bill would pass.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said that the Senate will not likely vote on any energy-related legislation before the body breaks for a holiday recess next week.

Several senators have vowed to filibuster any legislation that allowed drilling in the reserve.

Pombo said in a statement that he would be willing to revise the bill to make it more amenable to opponents in the Senate. This includes possibly devoting revenue from ANWR drilling programs to research on alternative energy sources, making it "more difficult for some senators to say no," he said.

But some high-ranking Democrats in the Senate said they would not budge on their resistance to drilling.

"I don't think that is an honest bargain," Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., told reporters earlier this week.

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