00 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 29 01 Requesting the Congress of the United States to pass legislation to permit the 02 export of Alaska crude oil. 03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 WHEREAS 50 U.S.C.S. Appx. 2406(d) prohibits, with tightly restrictive exceptions, 05 the export of domestically produced crude oil transported by pipeline over the right-of-way 06 granted by 43 U.S.C. 1652 (sec. 203 of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act); and 07 WHEREAS the limitation on export of Alaska North Slope crude oil effectively limits 08 its sale to the domestic American market; and 09 WHEREAS the higher transportation cost associated with shipping Alaska North Slope 10 crude oil through the Panama Canal to the Gulf Coast states reduces the wellhead price of the 11 oil; and 12 WHEREAS lower wellhead prices raise the economic threshold for exploring for and 13 producing all North Slope oil and, as a result, production from certain existing and newly 14 discovered oil fields is currently uneconomic; and 01 WHEREAS domestic exploration and development of newly discovered oil reserves 02 will enhance the nation's energy and economic security; and 03 WHEREAS the foreign export of Alaska North Slope crude oil will provide an 04 incentive for further domestic oil exploration and development; and 05 WHEREAS new discoveries and production resulting from increased domestic 06 exploration will facilitate the development of infrastructure and production facilities needed 07 to produce currently uneconomic Alaska North Slope reserves and, thus, lower the average 08 development costs of all Alaska North Slope production; and 09 WHEREAS exporting oil to Pacific Rim nations will decrease the substantial trade 10 deficit with nations that have expressed a strong interest in purchasing Alaska produced oil, 11 as evidenced by the sale under a United States Department of Commerce export license of 12 Alaska Cook Inlet oil to a Taiwanese company; and 13 WHEREAS Canada, Mexico, and Venezuela, among other neighboring countries in 14 this hemisphere, may provide stable, secure exports of crude oil to the United States at more 15 competitive prices than Alaska North Slope crude oil because of the transportation savings; 16 and 17 WHEREAS the additional cost of shipping Alaska North Slope crude oil to the Gulf 18 Coast and eastern states imposes an unnecessary burden on those states, reduces federal and 19 state tax revenue, reduces state royalties, and discourages exploration and development of 20 North Slope reserves; and 21 WHEREAS President Bush has lifted the ban on the export of oil produced in the 22 State of California; 23 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the United 24 States Congress to pass legislation permitting the export of Alaska crude oil, regardless of the 25 oil's point of production in the state, on a barrel-for-barrel basis for oil imported from other 26 countries in this hemisphere, under terms that afford enhanced economic benefits for the 27 nation without diminishing domestic security or reducing crude oil available for domestic 28 purposes; and be it 29 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska Congressional delegation and the Governor 30 are urged to continue using their best efforts to obtain passage of legislation permitting the 31 export of Alaska crude oil, regardless of the oil's point of production within the state. 01 COPIES of this resolution shall be sent to the Honorable Bill Clinton, President of the 02 United States; the Honorable Al Gore, Jr., Vice-President of the United States and President 03 of the U.S. Senate; the Honorable Thomas S. Foley, Speaker of the U.S. House of 04 Representatives; the Honorable George Mitchell, Majority Leader of the United States Senate; 05 and to the Honorable Ted Stevens and the Honorable Frank Murkowski, U.S. Senators, and 06 the Honorable Don Young, U.S. Representative, members of the Alaska delegation in 07 Congress.