Talked to a guy today who is a consultant on environmental issues. He said that the area in ANWR that would be drilled for oil is "roughly the size of Dulles airport." (due to directional drilling) Noting that the U.S. Geological Survey has estimated the amount of oil reserves to be a maximum of 16 billion barrels he said that the USGS has underestimated the amount of oil present in every previous project it has examined.
He added that even the environmentalists know that the drilling's impact would be minimal but are simply standing in opposition on principle, fearful that it could lead to more drilling elsewhere, particularly offshore. Lastly, even if ANWR approval were given today, it would take at least 8 years before oil extracted from there was turned into gas in large part due to all of the environmental paperwork required.
Update: Also read this.
He added that even the environmentalists know that the drilling's impact would be minimal but are simply standing in opposition on principle, fearful that it could lead to more drilling elsewhere, particularly offshore. Lastly, even if ANWR approval were given today, it would take at least 8 years before oil extracted from there was turned into gas in large part due to all of the environmental paperwork required.
Update: Also read this.
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