The House Natural Resources Committee passed H. R. 2150, the National Petroleum Reserve Alaska Access Act, this afternoon, with bipartisan approval. H.R. 2150 expands energy production by requiring that annual lease sales be held in the NPR-A, and expedites permitting in infrastructure development. This legislation was introduced in June as Congressman Young, Chairman Hastings, and Governor Parnell were touring the NPR-A; Congressman Young is an original cosponsor of this bill. This legislation will now move to the House floor for full consideration
“Excessive red tape has hampered our ability to safely develop and produce our oil-rich fields in Alaska,” said Rep. Young. “TAPS is running at one-third of its capacity despite being completely surrounded by land saturated with our God-given natural resources. Without the addition of increased oil supplies, our pipeline, which is critical infrastructure not only for Alaska, but for our country, will no longer be economical to operate. To let that pipeline fail would be a grave mistake. This legislation will help cut down on the amount of unnecessary hoops required to jump through in order to domestically develop our resources in the petroleum reserve.”
This legislation will create new jobs, support current energy jobs in Alaska, and help lower energy costs by ensuring NPR-A resources are developed and transported in a timely and efficient manner.
