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.