Here's what I read with my coffee this morning.
Not a nice way to start the day.
Bush may tap Canada to ease energy crunch if unable to drill in Alaska refuge
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ROBERT RUSSO
WASHINGTON (CP) - An energy-parched United States would like to drop a large straw into the deep fuel reserves in Northern Canada, President George W. Bush said Thursday.
With the lights going out across California in rolling blackouts, and the American economy faltering, the U.S. desperately needs to find new sources of fuel, Bush told reporters at a White House news conference.
Despite Canadian and congressional objections, Bush would like to drill for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Canada has objected to oil exploration in the preserve west of the Yukon border because it could adversely affect the Porcupine Caribou herd that migrates and calves through the refuge.
But should Congress throw up obstacles in that path, the United States would then hope to tap into natural gas reserves in the Northwest Territories, Bush said.
It was the first time Bush has acknowledged that he may not have the votes to press ahead with drilling in the refuge. That would be welcome news in Canada, which has lobbied furiously to prevent exploration for oil there.
Bush said he has had conversations with Prime Minister Jean Chretien about tapping into natural gas reserves in the Northwest Territories.
"There's gas in our hemisphere . . . I'd like it to be American gas," Bush said.
In Ottawa, a government spokesman said it is now economically feasible to tap into Canada's large natural gas reserves.
"Canada has an abundance of energy and we remain the best option as a supplier for the United States," said Duncan Fulton, a spokesman for Chretien.
Bush has suggested that Canada, the United States and Mexico should agree on a hemispheric energy policy. But Canadian officials are still unsure what such a policy would entail exactly.
California, the largest U.S. state that has been powering the American economy for much of the past decade, has run out of power. Rolling blackouts were ordered statewide last week for the first time since the Second World War.
With water levels at record lows in reservoirs throughout the American West, the White House is concerned that several other states will be forced to resort to blackouts as the weather warms up, dimming the lights and bringing air conditioners sputtering to a stop.
"We've got to plan to make sure that gas flows freely out of Canada into the United States," Bush said. "I've talked to the prime minister about that."
"There's a big, vast region of natural gas, and it's important for us to explore and encourage exploration and work with the Canadians to get pipelines coming out of the Northwest Territories to the United States."
The Territories, as well as the state of Alaska, have been vying for control of any pipeline project that would ship fuel south to the continental United States.
Canada would welcome the opportunity to sell gas to the United States, Chretien indicated after his meeting with Bush last month.
California's electricity crisis is energizing Bush's push to drill for oil and natural gas in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, where drilling has been banned since 1980.
"We will not do anything that harms our economy, because first things first, are the people who live in America. That's my priority," Bush said.
"I'm worried about the economy, I'm worried about the lack of an energy policy, I'm worried about rolling blackouts in California."
But Canadian natural gas would not likely represent the solution to America's energy problems. Bush wants to drill for oil in the ANWR as part of his new energy policy. It's unclear how natural gas might fit into his plans.
The potential oil reserves in the ANWR appear vast at first glance: between 4.3 billion and 11.8 billion barrels of oil.
But the United States consumes about seven billion barrels a year. The Alaskan oil may then represent as little as 180 days of the oil supply needed to keep the American economy lubricated or as much as 18 months' supply. |
