Alaskan Governor Bill Walker has met with the Obama administration to discuss offshore drilling.
Governor Walker, his Lt Governor Byron Mallot and Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack officially request Alaska remain in the five-year outer-continental shelf plan as part of the discussion.
A spokesperson said: “Governor Walker, Lt. Governor Mallott and Commissioner Mack met with U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Abigail Ross Hopper, Bureau of Land Management Director Neil Kornze and other members of the Interior Department. They also met at the White House with President Barack Obama’s Senior Advisor Brian Deese and other White House staffers to request that Alaska’s interests be prioritized as the Administration transitions out.”
The five-year program for oil and gas development establishes a schedule of oil and gas lease sales proposed for planning areas of the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The Program specifies the size, timing, and location of potential leasing activity.
“With oil prices and production down, Alaska must be focused on the long game,” Governor Walker said.
“The trans-Alaska oil pipeline is three-quarters empty. When Alaska became a state, we were told to live off of our resources. We just need access to them.”
Governor Walker and Commissioner Mack, who flew into Washington, D.C., directly after their gasline meetings in Singapore and Korea, also briefed the federal officials on what they had heard from the Asia-Pacific market—which comprises 70 percent of the world’s liquefied natural gas consumer base.
“I thank the Obama administration for expressing continued support of the gasline project,” Governor Walker said.
“Federal backing is important as we engage with the market on this project.”