After years of limitations on natural resource development in our state, President Trump’s decision to revisit and reverse federal roadblocks to domestic offshore energy development is welcome news to families, businesses and Native tribal groups who’ve come to rely on not only the jobs, income and reliable energy that the oil and gas industry supplies, but the revenue that has helped us avoid individual income and general sales taxes.
By closing off more than 180 million acres offshore our state, the prior administration threatened the investment climate for companies to do business here in Alaska — forgoing new business opportunities, endangering the financial future of families across the state, and threatening an industry that supports one-third of our economy.
With Alaska’s abundant energy resources, including more than 30 percent of the nation’s estimated known recoverable offshore oil and gas, the Alaska Trucking Association has long supported the oil and gas industry’s workforce and project needs by hauling equipment to staging areas and providing expedited logistics for parts, equipment, and operations. The opportunity to travel Alaska’s roadways and provide support for a robust offshore program would provide hundreds of jobs for Alaska truckers and jobs and financial stability felt beyond Alaska’s borders.
Where there is exploration, there are jobs.
The success of the oil and gas industry is not only important to the trucking industry, but to other businesses across Alaska. Our truckers, and the roadways they travel are the essence of the state’s trade and movement of goods. It’s how we export our commodities like metals and seafood, as well as import products like clothing and outdoor gear. When Alaska truckers pay less at the pump and have full loads to transport goods, it brings down prices for businesses and consumers.
The stark contrast of President Trump’s reversal from recent policy shows that this administration understands just how important the energy sector is to our families and Alaska’s other major industries, like fishing, mining, tourism and forestry. It also underscores the importance of our state’s vast offshore resources, which are vital to ensuring a robust and sustainable energy future now and in the decades to come.
As demonstrated by Caelus Energy’s recent discovery in state waters in Smith Bay, Alaska’s federal waters, too, can provide the state and the nation with energy that reduces energy costs and improves the economic landscape statewide, especially in states along the Western Seaboard that benefit from production in Alaska.
Development of these resources would also move the needle towards greater energy self-sufficiency. With foreign energy imports still accounting for more than half of our nation’s total daily supply — even with the domestic energy revolution in full swing — Alaska’s offshore resources can also help protect long-term energy security.
Alaskans know better than most just how important and vital energy can be to our urban cities and our rural towns. Interior Alaskan families pay some of the highest utility bills in the country, which can average $1,200 during the peak of winter. And due to our vast geography and extreme weather, we don’t have the luxury of the Lower 48, where interconnected grids and vast networks of pipelines abound. Instead, we rely on mostly oil-fired generation from our local co-ops.
It’s good to see that this administration looked at the best interest of the people of Alaska, who have never seen energy development as an either-or choice against the environment. We’ve been successfully developing our resources for decades and with a willing federal partner, will continue to pursue the responsible development of our offshore energy resources like oil and natural gas, which are critical to meeting our daily needs.
It’s the Alaska way, and it should be the nation’s way as well.
• Anne Seneca is the president of Consumer Energy Alliance-Alaska, and Aves Thompson is the executive director of the Alaska Trucking Association.
