Begich fight with Obama administration yielded historic permits for Arctic oil development

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 4/22/2014

ANCHORAGE — Atop the frozen Arctic Ocean U.S. Senator Mark Begich declares Shell’s 2012 drilling in the Chukchi Sea a victory for Alaska. Begich’s years-long fight for Arctic drilling produced historic permits despite objections from the Department of Interior, EPA, NOAA, national Democrats and the White House.

Begich is a steadfast supporter of expanded oil and natural gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic Ocean and Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In a previous TV spot, Begich highlighted the persistent pressure he put on the Obama administration to allow a road to be built in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the road will allow the first ever commercial oil production to occur there.

 

 

Begich’s push for Arctic development drew the attention of the New York Times in 2012 which reported: “The intensity of Shell’s campaign was matched by the fervor of Mark Begich, the new senator from Alaska.”

Similarly, the Alaska Dispatch reported Begich’s efforts got “closer than any Republicans in Juneau have toward actually adding more crude to the trans-Alaska pipeline.”

Begich’s previous commercials:

“Road” — Begich won a fight with the Obama administration, EPA and Army Corps to advance oil drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which will lead to the first ever commercial oil production from the NPR-A.

“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.”

Transcript:

Mark Begich: For decades, they said it would never happen. There was no way the Department of Interior, the EPA, NOAA, national Democrats and the White House would ever allow oil drilling in the Arctic Ocean. I’m Mark Begich – I fought for five years to get the permits so we could drill under this ice. And we won. 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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