VIPs offer Alaska insight to East Coast audience

Alaska's oil and gas resources have long supported the state and the nation, but new production in controversial areas will be needed in order to maintain that lifeline -- one that could also help wean the nation off foreign oil imports and rising prices, according to speakers at an East Coast forum on the 49th state.

Stevens, Ulmer and Cook Inlet Region, Inc. CEO Margie Brown joined David Rubenstein, managing director of the investment firm The Carlyle Group, at Alaska House, a New York nonprofit with a mission to raise awareness about Alaska. Also offering some remarks was oil expert Daniel Yergin, author of "The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money and Power."

Alaska House was founded by Alice Rogoff, who is a majority owner and publisher of Alaska Dispatch. Rubenstein is her husband.

Stevens talked about the value of oil to Alaska, saying,

"Oil is everything to our treasury, and natural gas is everything to the future of Alaska."

Oil generated 93 percent of the state's revenue last year, and in 2008, when prices were running at an average of $100 a barrel, the state's take was more than $10 billion. But North Slope production is falling, Stevens said, and Alaska's economic future depends on two issues that are highly controversial nationally: allowing oil exploration in both offshore federal waters and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Also critical is the need to develop a natural gas pipeline, releasing Alaska's stranded resource on the North Slope, he said. Currently, two projects are pursuing competing large-diameter pipelines. Most agree only one will ever be built, and it's a given the successful proposal will prove the largest private energy project ever in North America.

"That's extremely important to us," Stevens said. "The gas that we have up there has been stuck in Alaska. They find it when they're looking for oil. ... If we can pull it off, America will have a secure domestic supply of clean-burning natural gas for decades."

Alaska's resources could prove a "very, very real solution" to America's next big economic battle -- increasing energy demand -- with the likelihood of rising prices as the nation relies on more foreign oil imports, Rubenstein said. The recession may be ending, he said, but it's leaving a host of economic problems, including higher energy prices. Yet 20 percent of the nation's oil production comes from Alaska, which has the potential to supply even more.

"We haven't really recognized, completely, in our country exactly how important Alaska has been to our energy solution," Rubenstein said. "If we didn't have Alaska, which we bought for $7 million, we would be in far worse shape."

Stevens said the Alaska House event was well-attended by policymakers, businesspeople and those simply curious about the 49th state. Between the panel discussion and a reception, he said, the message Alaskans carried was clear: Resource development plays a critical role in Alaska, but the state is committed to responsible development.

Attendees were also interested in renewable energy development, sustainable fisheries and the role of Native corporations in Alaska's economy.

Also at the event were state Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel and co-chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and state Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel.

Contact Rena Delbridge at rena@alaskadispatch.com