The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge:
A False Path to Energy Security
As an energy security strategy, drilling for oil in the Arctic refuge is fatally flawed. The most effective way to reduce energy security risks is to reduce our reliance on oil and limit our exposure to the global oil market and its growing risks – not to feed a dependency that makes our nation more vulnerable. America will never achieve true energy security – much less energy independence – as long as we rely on oil to meet much of our energy needs.
Any oil produced from the Arctic refuge would enter the global oil market as a small drop in the ocean of world supply and demand, where its impact on oil prices and U.S. dependence on foreign oil would be insignificant.
A Department of Energy analysis published in March 2004 estimated that even with Arctic refuge oil, U.S. consumption of foreign oil would increase from 58 percent today, to 66 percent by 2025.
The global oil market is volatile and buffeted by political and economic forces that America has limited influence over. With rising global oil demand and most oil reserves located in unstable regions of the world, continued exposure to the market is a strategic liability -- with or without Arctic refuge production.
Middle Eastern fields have far lower production costs than the Arctic. In the unlikely event that Arctic refuge oil put downward pressure on prices, Middle Eastern producers could use their market power to underbid Arctic refuge production, reinforcing their market dominance and rendering the refuge fields uneconomical.
Because of our limited influence over the global oil market, the only way to reduce America’s oil-related vulnerabilities is to reduce America’s dependence on oil. Drilling in the Arctic refuge would only perpetuate our dependence on oil.
With only 3 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, the U.S. will never be able to drill its way to energy security. Effective solutions to America’s energy security do not lie in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. They lie in balanced policies that address oil demand and promote energy diversification. Unlike oil fields, efficiency savings persist and deliver saved energy indefinitely.
REP America supports truly conservative energy policies that promote long-term energy security. Reducing our dependence on oil will result in a more stable economy, weaken terrorist organizations, and safeguard the public health and quality of life.