Clinton Lifts Export Ban On Alaskan Oil

President Clinton on Sunday lifted the ban on exporting oil from Alaska’s North Slope, but laid down some rules for tankers that will carry the oil overseas.

Clinton also ordered the Coast Guard and Secretary of Transportation to study marine safety in Washington state, in response to concerns over how lifting the ban might affect tanker traffic headed for Washington refineries.

Clinton signed a bill last fall to allow exports of Alaskan North Slope oil, nullifying a ban imposed just before the transAlaska oil pipeline was built in the mid1970s. The president was given until Sunday to determine whether lifting the ban was in the national interest.

In so deciding, Clinton imposed conditions on tankers carrying crude oil from Alaska to overseas markets, said Elgie Holstein, special assistant to the president for economic policy.

Oil-laden tankers must remain at least 200 miles off Alaska’s coast except when leaving Prince William Sound. The tankers also must be equipped with satellite locating devices so the Coast Guard can be sure they are obeying the 200-mile limit and to allow a rapid response in an emergency.

The tankers must take part in an annual safety inspection program. And the ships must wash out their ballast tanks at least 200 miles offshore before entering Prince William Sound, to guard against foreign marine organisms infesting Alaskan waters.

Oil companies and Alaskan officials sought to end the ban, saying it would provide a new market for surplus North Slope crude and thus money for the companies, taxes for the state and federal governments, and more jobs. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates North Slope production will increase by about 100,000 barrels a day with the lifting of the ban.

The ban originally was imposed as a condition for building the pipeline, to prevent the Alaskan crude from being sold overseas during the U.S. oil shortages of the 1970s.

“Times have changed,” Richard Oliver, deputy chief executive for BP Exploration, said Sunday. “President Clinton’s decision to authorize exports should spur additional production in Alaska and California and actually enhance the nation’s overall energy security.”

British Petroleum officials have said Washington state and California still will receive the bulk of Alaskan crude, with exports being sold from oil the company now ships via Panama Gulf and East coast refineries.

Gov. Mike Lowry, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and some environmentalists, fishing groups and Indian tribes in Washington have said that lifting the ban could result in more foreign tankers coming to this state.

They reasoned that because Washington refineries get most of their crude from Alaska, if more of that oil goes abroad the refineries might have to buy more crude from foreign sources.

The administration and oil shippers disagreed, saying it would always be cheaper to ship Alaskan oil to Washington and other West Coast ports, because they are days if not weeks closer than any foreign destination. Even if the state does receive less Alaskan crude, Canadian producers are eager to pipe more oil into the state, the administration said.

Murray had endorsed a $3.5 million plan to station a rescue tugboat at the mouth of Washington’s Strait of Juan de Fuca, and it was included in the Senate version of the export bill. But the provision was cut in the House, in favor of a 15-month Coast Guard study on how best to use private tugs to assist disabled tankers.

Clinton said that while an administration review found no likelihood that lifting the embargo would hurt Washington state, “concern is clearly rising in that state about the increasing volume of vessel traffic projected to occur as the result of other factors,” such as the growing trade between Washington and Pacific Rim nations.

Because of that, Clinton said he was ordering the Coast Guard to complete the private tug study by Dec. 31, and to issue an interim report in 120 days. he also has asked the transportation secretary to determine by year end the need for any additional measures to protect the marine environment and prevent shipping accidents in Washington state.