US to open 3.9m acres in Alaska for drilling

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US to open 3.9m acres in Alaska for drilling

By Sheila McNulty in Houston

Published: July 16 2008 22:57 | Last updated: July 16 2008 22:57

The US federal government on Wednesday said it would open 3.9m acres of land in a designated petroleum reserve in Alaska for drilling as a means to help curb rising petrol prices.

“This is welcome news at a time when Americans are paying record prices at the pump,” said C. Stephen Allred, assistant US Secretary for Land and Minerals. “Together with proposed new production from other offshore and onshore areas, these increased supplies will help to stabilise energy costs.’’

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According to the New York Times, the field could contain as much as 3.7 billion barrels of oil.

Aside from the prospect of expanding domestic oil supplies, the new production would help alleviate worries about the viability of the Alaska pipeline system.

The pipeline is transporting 700,000 barrels of oil daily, down from 2.1 million when the Prudhoe Bay fields were at peak production in 1988. If the amount of oil in the pipeline falls too low in the bitter Arctic climate, it is no longer able to flow south to the tankers that take it to California for processing.

NY TIMES