Today, the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held an oversight hearing on “Domestic and Natural Gas: Alaskan Resources, Access and Infrastructure,” and heard witness testimony on the abundant energy resources available in Alaska and roadblocks by the Obama Administration that are preventing the production of resources and development of critical infrastructure.

“America might not have a single state with more abundant energy resources than the offshore and onshore lands of Alaska. The utilization of those resources is vital to moving America to a future less dependent on foreign sources of energy while creating hundreds of thousands of American jobs,” said Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04). “Certainly, with any form of energy production, there are challenges that must be overcome. However, some of the greatest challenges in Alaska seem to originate from our own government, not the physical characteristics of the Arctic.” [Click here to read full opening statement]

“There is no doubt that Alaska holds tremendous resources. The offshore of Alaska is estimated to hold at least 27 billion barrels of oil and 132 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. But that is just the start, onshore there could be an additional 14 billion barrels just waiting for development,” said Energy and Minerals Subcommittee Chairman Doug Lamborn. “Before this subcommittee it has often been said that we don’t have a lack of resources to curb our foreign dependence, we have a lack of clear policy. It can and should be the policy of this government to develop the resources in our National Petroleum Reserve, quickly, efficiently and responsibly to reduce our foreign dependence, create jobs and keep our revenue here at home.” [Click here to read full opening statement]

“I thank Chairman Lamborn for inviting me to sit in on this hearing,” said Rep. Don Young (R-AK). “We heard from an excellent panel this morning who demonstrated what many Americans already know, which is that we can safely and efficiently develop our abundance of God-given resources in Alaska. Fossil fuels are what run our trains, planes, trucks, ships, and cars and are the backbone of commerce in this country. Yet instead of using what we have here at home, pumping money into our own economy, and creating jobs for our people, we send hundreds of millions of our dollars each year to foreign countries for their product instead. This nonsense has to stop. We need an energy policy, we need to do something, and we need to do it now!”

In testimony, Dan Sullivan, Commissioner of Alaska’s Department of Natural Resources stated that “development of new oil and gas fields in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas could result in an estimated annual average of 54,700 new jobs for 50 years.” Sullivan also listed specific examples of decisions the federal government has made that have prevented or stalled development of energy in Alaska. [See pages 9-11 in his full testimony for specific list]

Impacts to Alaska Natives were highlighted by Richard Glenn, Executive Vice President of Lands and Natural Resources of the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation, which is owned by over 11,000 Inupiat Eskimos. Glenn testified that “safe, responsible oil and gas development is the only industry that has remained in our region long enough to foster improvements to our remote communities…without development in our region our communities will not survive.”

David Lawrence, Shell’s Executive Vice President of Exploration and Commercial, noted that “with continuing U.S. inactivity, our country risks falling even further behind the rest of the world in developing its Arctic resources.” Lawrence also explained that while offshore leases have been issued to Shell, “the government’s permitting and regulatory process has not been equipped to deliver. As a result, Shell has been blocked from drilling even a single exploration well” and argued that “endless delays by our government are wasteful to the taxpayer and should not be tolerated.”

As part of House Republican’s American Energy Initiative, the Committee will continue to examine America’s vast array of energy resources in an effort to make America more energy secure, create jobs and lower energy prices for families.

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