Begich won fight for new oil drilling on Alaska’s North Slope

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 3/31/2014

ANCHORAGE: Since his first days in the Senate, Mark Begich has fought to open the Arctic to new oil and gas development. In his new TV spot “Road” Begich highlights his fight to secure permits for a road and bridge over the Colville River on Alaska’s North Slope.

Begich’s dogged fight with the Obama administration started when the EPA and Army Corps of Engineers attempted to stop progress on oil development in the National-Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). After bringing Interior Secretaries to the North Slope and putting non-stop pressure on the administration for development in the NPR-A, the first-ever commercial oil will be produced in 2015.

 

 

Development of Alaska’s CD-5 drill site, pictured in the ad, will create an estimated 500 jobs and put 16,000 barrels a day of oil into the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Begich also forced the Obama administration to open the Arctic Ocean to oil drilling and continues to fight for drilling in ANWR.

Begich’s previous commercials:

• “Alaska’s Son” — As a born-and-raised Alaskan, there’s nowhere Begich won’t go to listen to Alaskans and then deliver results. Named the best ad of the 2014 electoral cycle so far.
• “Into The Ground” — Begich fought back against attack ads from the billionaire Koch brothers accusing Mark Begich of supporting a “Carbon Tax.” Two separate independent fact check organizations labeled the attack ads “False” and “Not True.”

Ad Transcript:

Mark Begich: First the EPA said no. Then the Army Corps of Engineers said no. We had waited decades to drill here in the National Petroleum Reserve… But Washington was still saying no. All because they didn’t want to build a road here. I’m Mark Begich. It took five years… but I got the road approved. Next year? The oil starts flowing. I approved this message because sooner or later, Washington’ll figure out that I don’t take no for an answer.

Read the ad backup here.

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