The US federal government said yesterday it would open 3.9m acres of land in a designated petroleum reserve in Alaska for drilling as a means to help curb rising petrol prices.
"This is welcome news at a time when Americans are paying record prices at the pump," said C. Stephen Allred, assistant US secretary for land and minerals. "Together with proposed new production from other offshore and onshore areas, these increased supplies will help to stabilise energy costs.''
The Alaska decision follows another by President George W. Bush on Monday to lift a presidential ban on drilling on the US outer continental shelf, off Florida. That decision still requires Congress to lift a separate ban on the area before the area can be leased for development. But the bureau of land management, an agency within the US Department of the Interior, said the Alaskan land that will now be offered requires no other approvals and will be up for leasing in the autumn.
The site was set aside decades ago but development was blocked by lawsuits from environmentalists concerned about disrupting wildlife. The government has tackled these fears, making it a condition of the lease by oil and gas companies that polar bears, waterfowl and caribou are protected. |