‘The Real Energy Crisis’

Your editorial (Dec. 3), “The Real Energy Crisis,” suggested there is no urgency to develop new domestic supplies of petroleum, such as the potentially giant reserves in the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Alaska’s North Slope.

The statistics show otherwise.

Foreign oil imports are now at a dangerously high level; the American Petroleum Institute reports that in September, this nation imported nearly 45% of the oil we use. That figure is expected to grow as our domestic supplies dwindle and low oil prices discourage domestic exploratory drilling.

The coastal plain represents this country’s best hope for new oil supplies. Geologists compare it in size to the nation’s largest oil fields, Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk, also located on Alaska’s North Slope.

If Congress decided today to open the coastal plain to oil and gas leasing, it would be the year 2000 before our nation saw any that area’s oil. That’s because in the Arctic, it takes 10 to 15 years to plan, permit, and build facilities.

Coincidentally, North Slope production, which supplies this country with more than 20% of its domestic petroleum supply, will have diminished significantly by that time.

In addition to national security, all states benefit economically from North Slope development. In California, Alaska North Slope producers have purchased hard goods and supplies totaling roughly $2 billion since 1980.

It’s important to realize that ecological values don’t have to be sacrificed for important national security and economic benefits.

Fifteen years of development at Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk show that environmentally sensitive operations are compatible with Arctic wildlife, including migratory caribou.

Environmental protection is part of the cost of doing business in a modern society. In addition to the precautions the oil industry takes, stringent state and federal environmental regulations control development activities, to ensure development takes place in a sound manner.

HAROLD C. HEINZE

President, ARCO Alaska Inc.

Anchorage