Alaska adds oil to U.S. total

WASHINGTON, June 4 (UPI) -- Alaska accounted for all of the growth in U.S. oil production from the week ending May 29, data released from the Energy Department show.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration said in its weekly petroleum status report total U.S. crude oil production for the week ending May 29 was 9.6 million barrels per day. Output from the Lower 48 states was unchanged from the previous week and production from Alaska increased by 4.1 percent to 507,000 bpd.

The U.S. Interior Department in January released a draft proposal for access to federal waters for exploration and drilling. While an Atlantic Ocean area was included for the first time, the proposal was met with frustration by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, as it came on the heels of the closure of parts of Alaska's wilderness area to energy companies.

The draft proposal includes 14 potential leases: 10 in the Gulf of Mexico, three offshore Alaska and one in the Atlantic.

President Barack Obama in December used his authority to place the Bristol Bay off limits and this year proposed setting aside most of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge as a protected wilderness area.

The ANWR decision drew fire from Alaskan lawmakers, who viewed it as a threat to the state economy. For Murkowski, a longtime critic of Obama's energy policies, it was an act of war.

Though Alaska is the No. 4 oil producer in the nation, its production is in decline as many state reserve areas reach maturation.

Last month, Shell parked its Polar Pioneer rig at the Port of Seattle as it prepares for a drilling campaign in the arctic waters of the Chukchi Sea off the Alaskan coast. The port activity was met with protests though, with nearly 90 percent of the state revenue coming from energy resources, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said arctic drilling "will happen."