NPRA Supports Bill to Speed Alaska Oil Production

WASHINGTON, June 16, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Legislation designed to speed the opening of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to production of oil and natural gas should be approved as part of a larger effort to make more U.S. energy resources available to serve the American people, the president of NPRA, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Association, testified today before a congressional committee.

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NPRA President Charles T. Drevna testified before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources of the House Natural Resources Committee in support of The National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act.

"My association believes this legislation has a number of beneficial provisions that would avoid bureaucratic delays that hold up the process for producing, transporting and delivering American oil to American refiners," Drevna said in written testimony submitted prior to his appearance before the subcommittee.          

Drevna said more oil production is needed in Alaska to produce enough oil to keep the 800-mile Trans Alaska pipeline operating. If the pipeline is forced to shut down, Western states would become more reliant on imported oil, he said.

"The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska sits on top of more than 2.7 billion barrels of oil and more than 114.3 trillion cubic feet of natural gas," Drevna said "These are tremendous energy resources, and our nation needs to use them to bring tremendous benefits to the American people."

"The National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act deserves to be enacted into law on two levels," Drevna said. "First, because it will provide a sure and steady supply of domestic oil to enable refineries and petrochemical manufacturing plants to make the fuel and other vital products needed to serve the millions of Americans living in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona and Hawaii. And second, because this important legislation is just the first of many actions we urge Congress and the administration to take to make more of America's valuable fossil fuels resources available to serve the American people."

"America is not energy poor – we're energy rich," Drevna added. "We have more oil, natural gas and other energy resources under our feet and off our shores than just about any country on Earth. And we're finding new – and environmentally safe – ways to bring these energy sources to us all the time. … The problem isn't that we lack energy resources. The problem is that our government is making it extremely hard – if not impossible in some instances – to use them, even with extensive environmental safeguards."

"The companies that are members of NPRA are often criticized and demonized," Drevna said. "But in fact, we're not part of America's energy problems – we're part of the solution to those problems. We believe the path to overcoming the energy challenges America faces begins with a national commitment to using our own God-given resources to serve the interests of our own citizens."  

SOURCE National Petrochemical & Refiners Association