SJR 3: Opposing the ban on the export of Alaska North Slope crude oil; endorsing federal legislation to remove restraints on the export of Alaska North Slope oil; requesting the Congress of the United States to pass legislation to permit the export of Alaska North Slope crude oil; and urging the President of the United States to support the legislation to lift the ban on the export of Alaska North Slope crude oil.
00SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 3 01 Opposing the ban on the export of Alaska North Slope crude oil; endorsing 02 federal legislation to remove restraints on the export of Alaska North Slope oil; 03 requesting the Congress of the United States to pass legislation to permit the 04 export of Alaska North Slope crude oil; and urging the President of the United 05 States to support the legislation to lift the ban on the export of Alaska North 06 Slope crude oil. 07 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 08 WHEREAS 50 U.S.C.S. Appx. 2406(d) (sec. 7(d), Export Administration Act of 1979) 09 prohibits, with tightly restrictive exceptions, the export of domestically produced crude oil 10 transported by pipeline over the right-of-way granted by 43 U.S.C. 1652 (sec. 203 of the 11 Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act); and 12 WHEREAS the limitation on export of Alaska North Slope crude oil effectively limits 13 its sale to the domestic American market; and 14 WHEREAS the higher transportation cost associated with shipping Alaska North Slope
01 crude oil through the Panama Canal to the Gulf Coast states reduces the wellhead price of the 02 oil; and 03 WHEREAS lower wellhead prices raise the economic threshold for exploring for and 04 producing all North Slope oil and, as a result, production from certain existing and newly 05 discovered oil fields is currently uneconomic; and 06 WHEREAS the export ban singles out Alaska to pay its costs, penalizing the state and 07 the North Slope producers, which pay 85 percent of the taxes collected by the state; and 08 WHEREAS the current export ban reduces the value of crude oil production in the 09 state by an estimated $1,000,000,000 per year, or about $1.10 per barrel; and 10 WHEREAS Alaska North Slope crude oil required to be transported and delivered for 11 sale in the domestic market incurs approximately $2.70 per barrel in higher transportation 12 charges than if the oil could be exported in international tankers to Pacific Rim countries; and 13 WHEREAS domestic exploration and development of newly discovered oil reserves 14 will enhance the nation's energy and economic security; and 15 WHEREAS the foreign export of Alaska North Slope crude oil will provide an 16 incentive for further domestic oil exploration and development; and 17 WHEREAS new discoveries and production resulting from increased domestic 18 exploration will facilitate the development of infrastructure and production facilities needed 19 to produce currently uneconomic Alaska North Slope reserves and, thus, lower the average 20 development costs of all Alaska North Slope production; and 21 WHEREAS exporting oil to Pacific Rim nations will decrease the substantial trade 22 deficit with nations that have expressed a strong interest in purchasing Alaska produced oil, 23 as evidenced by the sale under a United States Department of Commerce export license of 24 Alaska Cook Inlet oil to a Taiwanese company; and 25 WHEREAS Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela, among other neighboring countries in 26 this hemisphere, may provide stable, secure exports of crude oil to the United States at more 27 competitive prices than Alaska North Slope crude oil because of the transportation savings; 28 and 29 WHEREAS the additional cost of shipping Alaska North Slope crude oil to the Gulf 30 Coast and eastern states imposes an unnecessary burden on those states, reduces federal and 31 state tax revenue, reduces state royalties, and discourages exploration and development of
01 North Slope reserves; and 02 WHEREAS the president has endorsed in concept the lifting of the oil export ban; 03 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature opposes the continuing ban on 04 export of Alaska North Slope crude oil because the ban results in inefficiencies and economic 05 waste and because it reduces the overall level of national economic activity; and be it 06 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature endorses legislation 07 removing the restraints on the export of Alaska North Slope crude oil; and be it 08 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Congressional delegation and the Governor 09 are urged to continue using their best efforts to obtain passage of legislation permitting the 10 export of Alaska North Slope crude oil, regardless of the oil's point of production within the 11 state; and be it 12 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature urges the President of the 13 United States to support legislation that would remove the restraints on the export of that oil. 14 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the 15 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President 16 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Newt Gingrich, Speaker of the U.S. House of 17 Representatives; the Honorable Bob Dole, Majority Leader of the United States Senate; and 18 to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and the 19 Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in Congress.