Currently, the U.S. consumes 7 billion barrels of oil annually.  Since only 4 billion of the barrels are produced domestically, that means that the U.S. is importing 3 billion barrels of oil every year.  To top it off, most of our oil comes from the unstable Middle East.  As a way to increase America’s oil security, President Bush is pushing to have Area 1002 of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge opened for drilling.

Common arguments for development include:

There is a large quantity of oil in ANWR.  Prudhoe Bay is right next door to ANWR and supplies the country with 20% of its domestic oil.  The 1002 area is just a stone’s through away and many believe there is more oil there than the estimates predict.  The USGS predicts that there is 4.3 to 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.  Augmented with our current oil production, that’s enough to supply the U.S. with oil for up to four years without importing any oil.  Since September 11, oil prices have skyrocketed.  A few years ago, an average barrel of oil was around $30.  Now, prices are around $35 or more.  With the Middle East as unstable as it is, some predict that prices will go above $40.  The oil that could potentially come from ANWR would serve to significantly increase the nation’s energy security.  Also, with the additional supply of oil brought to the market, prices could actually fall.  It is a basic principle of economics: as supply increases, prices fall.  Bush anticipates that supplying cheap energy will boost the economy.

Another economic benefit is that development will bring more jobs, not just in Alaska, but all over the nation as companies expand to match their increased production.  Arctic Power predicts that 736,000 new jobs would be created nationwide by the development of ANWR.  Not only that, but the government collects money from the oil industry, both in the form of land leases and royalties from production.  In fact, the Bush Administration expects it can earn $2.6 billion in leases alone.  Alaskan residents receive some of the royalties directly, which would boost their economy.  Currently, Alaskans receive about $2000 per year from the industry.  With oil production at Prudhoe Bay slowing in recent years, the Alaskan economy could use a boost.

The people in Kaktovik, a town of native Inupiat Eskimos, would have the most to gain.  Owning 94,000 acres of land within the 1002 area, they not only could receive the royalties from the oil industry as a whole, but could lease out their own land.  In 1985,  the Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation leased a small plot of land to British Petroleum (BP) to do a test drill.  Known as the KIC Well, the results of the drill are still secret.  Some say that BP is only trying to "whet people's appetites."  Already from the oil industry, Kaktovik has received funding for a large school with a pool, a community center, a health clinic, better houses, and street lights.  Many are eager about the high paying jobs that would come, too.  To the west of Prudhoe bay, there is another Inupiat town, Nuiqsut.  This town also owns land on which oil exists.  Unlike Kaktovik, Nuiqsut’s land is in an area that is open for development and they are already leasing land and collecting money for development occurring in their backyard.  Their town, abandoned in the 1940’s to be resettled in 1973, relies on the revenue that the oil industry brings.  They, too, have been able to build a community center, a school, and other public facilities.  Some natives like to point out too that, historically, it has not mattered what the native people thought, if their wishes conflicted with the American government’s, they were pushed aside and overruled.  It is time that the native people are given true control of what is theirs.  Many  argue that they have been keepers of that land for time unmemorable and have proven that they are thoughtful conservationists.  They say that they too, do not want anything to happen to land they call home and will make sure that developers act responsibly. 

Another way that the land would be conserved is through improved technology.  Today, proponents argue that oil development leaves 99.9% of the land untouched.  The size of drilling pads has been reduced by 70% since the industry began.  A British Potroleum (BP) representative asserts that if the field in Prudhoe Bay were built today, only 4,000 of the 12,000 acres it now occupies would be needed.  Roads are constructed with ice instead of gravel in the winter time.  In the spring, the construction melts, leaving only the drill pad behind.  This means both that there will not be gravel left over in the Spring and that the gravel would not have to be mined from elsewhere.  Also, utilizing horizontal drilling, a single drill pad can cover a large area.  Rather than having to use many drill pads, each only being able to drill downward, today’s technology allows developers to drill down and then horizontally over a large area, up to 4 miles away from the drilling pad.