Philadelphia Inquirer - Pipelines bless Alaska, U.S.

Philadelphia Inquirer

HEADLINE: Pipelines bless Alaska, U.S.

BODY:
Sen. Lisa Murkowski is a Republican representing Alaska

Energy pipelines are a vital part of the nation's infrastructure. They do far more than deliver oil and gas to our homes and factories. They fuel economic growth and create American jobs. Anyone who doubts that need only look to Alaska's experience.

Alaska is home to the nation's best-known pipeline, the 800-mile trans-Alaska oil pipeline that carries crude from the nation's biggest oil field to tidewater. The pipeline, which crosses 800 rivers and streams and passes over three mountain ranges, has carried more than 14 billion barrels of oil since its opening in 1977.

It also has fueled Alaska's economy. Without it, none of Alaska's northern oil could have gotten to market. That would have deprived Alaska of about half of its economy over the past quarter century and cost the United States between 17 percent and 25 percent of the oil it produces.

Construction of the oil pipeline created more than 30,000 jobs - one-fifth of the state's total workforce at the time. Today, the pipeline employs far fewer. Its greatest benefit now is that it provides America with oil. It also has saved America more than $200 billion - the cost of buying petroleum from foreign countries.

During the last 26 years, the pipeline has responded well to several environmental challenges. Despite an explosion at a pump station during start-up, no oil was released. The line also withstood without leaks a bombing in 1978 and a major earthquake in 2002. About 6,000 barrels of oil were released in October 2001 when a hunter deliberately shot the line, and about 16,000 barrels leaked when the pipeline was sabotaged in 1978.

But most environmental concerns have proven groundless. Some worried that the line would harm the bear, caribou, moose and sheep that live along its route. The 554 special animal crossings built into the line seem to have worked well: Wildlife populations have held steady throughout the corridor. Earlier this year, the pipeline was given a clean bill of health for another 30 years, if needed.

Without new oil discoveries, either from the Arctic coastal plain or from inside Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve, the U.S. energy infrastructure may shrink further, and we may become even more reliant on foreign oil.

A $20 billion pipeline has been proposed to carry our huge natural gas reserves to market. Alaska's Far North holds 35 trillion cubic feet of known gas and probably three times more. That could help offset a projected national shortfall of up to 20 billion cubic feet per day next decade, if the money is found.

In the omnibus energy bill now before it, Congress is considering a series of relatively inexpensive incentives to make the Alaska gas line a reality. Such a pipeline would run 3,500 miles and would consume 5 million tons of steel. Wages are expected to exceed $5 billion, creating more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide. It would be the single largest jobs creator in the country.

Congress soon will consider whether to provide gas project owners a loan guarantee (similar to those provided for other important industries), accelerated tax depreciation to reduce financing costs, and a production mechanism that will help spread the risk in the unlikely event that gas markets collapse.

If those incentives are passed, this nation will enjoy the economic benefits while also reducing our future dependence on foreign gas imports and helping to stabilize gas prices. That's why pipelines are so important. They move energy to market, providing the spark this nation's economy needs every day.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski's Web page is