Time to Get Serious About U.S. Oil, Like N. Dakota

Alaska governor Sean Parnell wrote this week in the WSJ that it's "Time To Get Serious About American Oil," and posed the question: "Why is Washington blocking oil exploration in states like Alaska and Louisiana when the Middle East is such a powder keg?"  Here are some excerpts:

"Over the past several decades, we have allowed ourselves to become dependent on oil from unstable regions that are hostile to our nation. The United States relies on an open Suez Canal, the security of which has been funded by our tax dollars for decades. With gasoline prices surging, and manufacturing and transportation costs rising, the rising cost of goods will soon impact every American, putting our economic recovery at risk.

The U.S. imports more than 63% of its oil. The time is now for our federal government to re-examine its current policy—which severely hampers domestic oil exploration and development—and to learn from our recent history.

Millions of American jobs are directly tied to our energy production. Even as the energy sector necessarily diversifies, oil will continue to be a key piece of our national energy profile for many decades. And yet Alaska and the Gulf states have been blocked from developing America's oil by politically driven federal policy, much of it aided by misinformation. If Americans wonder what our economic Achilles' heel is, they need look no further than the federal regulatory system that delays permits for domestic exploration and production.

As we watch fuel prices rise, inflation take hold, and government debt reach record levels, Alaskans and those in other oil-producing states are frustrated. We wonder why the Obama administration is openly hostile to a sector of our economy that has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, kept the country on an even keel even during the recession, and produces a global commodity we depend on every day.

As residents of our individual states, we desire responsible resource development. We don't want to live and work in a spoiled nest. We also want to create jobs that contribute to our economic recovery. Why should we spend billions overseas for foreign oil when we could spend those dollars here at home?" 

MP: The chart above shows one state's oil success story - North Dakota -  where oil production has almost tripled in four years, from 40 million barrels in 2006 to almost 120 million barrels last year.  Perhaps Alaska and the Gulf states could experience the same dramatic increases in oil production as North Dakota, if more domestic drilling was allowed.