US Interior Sec. Ryan Zinke reiterated his support for more responsible oil and gas development during a 5-day visit to Alaska as part of an extended trip around the Arctic Circle that also included scheduled stops in Greenland and Norway.
“If you look at 2008, the Department of Interior made about $18 billion in offshore. Last year [it] was $2.6 billion. So we lost $15.5 billion/year on revenue,” Zinke said during a May 27 visit to Alaska’s North Slope with US Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R), according to a report by Anchorage television station KDKA.
It noted that Murkowski said access is critical in Alaska, and she hoped the trip would show the secretary how long it has taken to begin production from the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
“I think it was also important for him to realize we’re accessing a resource in an environment that’s also a fragile ecosystem, that we have to respect that land, and the environmental stewardship we adhere to,” said the senator, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
KDKA also reported that Zinke met with Alaska Gov. Bill Walker (I) and said “we’ll fill that pipe,” an apparent reference to the 800-mile Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, which has a more than 2 million b/d crude oil capacity but now carries around 500,000 b/d.
“He understands the opportunity we have for resource development. I hope that’s what he takes away from Alaska, that we have more minerals than any other state and we want to develop those,” Walker said.
Zinke’s Alaska visit included a meeting with DOI employees in Anchorage and an address during the Alaska Oil & Gas Association’s annual conference.
Contact Nick Snow at [email protected].
