As domestic oil production continued its decline, the U.S. imported 58% of its petroleum needs in 2004. These oil imports cost more than $150 billion and robbed tens of thousands of steady, high-paying jobs from American workers. That’s $37.75 million per hour gone out of our economy!  Factor in the cost to defend our imported oil, and the costs in jobs and industry sent abroad, the total would be nearly a trillion dollars.

Through shortsighted actions, Congress and federal agencies have banned oil activity from more than 300 million acres of federal land onshore and more than 460 million acres offshore in the past 20 years. An estimated 67% of oil reserves and 40% of natural gas reserves are on federal lands in America's western states, particularly Alaska.

More than 75% of Alaskans favor exploration and production in ANWR. The democratically elected Alaska State Legislatures, congressional delegations, and Governors elected over the past 25 years have unanimously supported opening the Coastal Plain of ANWR.  The Inupiat Eskimos who live in and near ANWR support onshore oil development on the Coastal Plain.

And the entire U.S. economy benefits from domestic production when new construction, service, manufacturing, and engineering jobs are created. These jobs occur in all 50 states. Between 1977 and 2004, North Slope oil field development and production activity contributed over $50 billion to the nations economy, directly impacting each state in the union. A national impact study by Wharton Econometrics estimates total employment at full production in ANWR to be 735,000 jobs. Federal revenues would be enhanced by billions of dollars from bonus bids, lease rentals, royalties, and taxes. Estimates on increased government revenue from ANWR by the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Interior for the first 5 years after Congressional approval of drilling are from  $152-237 billion.

Environmentalists derided the discovery of the gigantic Prudhoe Bay oilfield in 1968 as "only a few months' supply. Since then, the pipeline from Prudhoe Bay has carried more than 13 billion barrels of oil from Alaska's North Slope. During that time Alaska oil supplied 20% of domestic production, amounting to nearly a $300 billion.

However, since 1998 North Slope oil field production has been on the decline. Peak production was two million barrels a day, but currently only 731,000 barrels a day flow from the North Slope. Today the Alaska oil pipeline carries less than half its capacity; thus the search continues for a new supply of oil. Without it, the entire system must eventually be decommissioned and removed. The coastal plain of ANWR, 60 miles east of Prudhoe Bay and with similar geology, is America's most prospective area for another giant oil field.

Studies of the ANWR coastal plain indicate it may contain between 11.6 and 31.5 billion barrels of oil. With enhanced recovery technology, ANWR oil could potentially provide an additional 30 to 50 years of reliable supply. Natural gas, produced with the oil, could also be transported by the pipeline; ANWR natural gas reserves are estimated at 30.9 trillion cubic feet.

Only the 1.5 million acre or 8% on the northern coast of ANWR is being considered for development. The remaining 17.5 million acres or 92% of ANWR will remain permanently closed to any kind of development. If oil is discovered, less than 2000 acres of the over 1.5 million acres of the Coastal Plain would be affected. That¹s less than half of one percent of ANWR that would be affected by production activity. And constantly improving technology has greatly reduced the footprint of Arctic oil development. If Prudhoe Bay were built today, facility designs show the footprint would be 64% smaller.

Oil and gas development and wildlife can successfully coexist in Alaska 's arctic. The arctic oil fields already in production at Prudhoe Bay have very healthy brown bear, fox and bird populations equal to their surrounding areas, and the Central Arctic Caribou Herd which migrates through Prudhoe Bay has grown from 3000 animals to its current level of 32,000 animals over the last 20 years. To further protect the native wildlife, drilling activity in ANWR could be limited to winter months when the animals do not frequent the coastal plain.

American has  become dependent on imported oil. More than 20,000 foreign supertankers offloaded oil at east, west and gulf coast refineries last year; they carry from 700,000 to 1.2 million barrels a day from Iraq alone.  And Foreign oil is produced and shipped under less strict environmental standards than domestic oil. Under strict government supervision, Alaska's oil fields are the cleanest in the world, second to none.

Eighty-eight percent of the energy for America's transportation, industry, government and residential needs comes from oil, gas and coal. No combination of conservation, technology or alternatives can come close to replacing these fossil fuels. It will take years for research, testing, permitting, construction, and distribution systems for replacement alternatives to be realized. When alternative energy sources become practical and economical, Americans will use them. Until then, fossil fuels must be relied upon.

Today's domestic oil production comes from more than 150,000 wells scattered throughout the country; they average 15 barrels a day. There have been no new major discoveries in the 48 contiguous states in thirty years. As the U.S. population increases, the nation must either produce more or import more. Alaska's Arctic is the most promising area for the largest supply with the smallest environmental impact.

---

Murray Weidenbaum is chairman of the Center for the Study of American Business at Washington University in St. Louis.