FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                 CONTACT: ROBERT DILLON (202) 224-6977

JULY 12, 2011                                              MEGAN HERMANN (202) 224-7875

                                  

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, spoke about the important contribution Alaska’s Arctic could make to the nation’s energy security and economic recovery during a speech Tuesday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

 

“We have so much resource potential in Alaska, especially in our Arctic regions – some 24 billion barrels of oil and more than 100 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas alone, according to the federal government’s estimates,” Murkowski said. “I believe we should be able to develop those resources. For the good of the people of Alaska, for the good of the nation as a whole, and, yes, even for the good of the environment, responsible oil and gas exploration in the Arctic should be allowed to advance.”

 

The full text of Sen. Murkowski’s speech is attached and video of her speech at CSIS is available at: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/15950023. Her comments begin at the 19-minute mark.