Palin: Big Oil's new champion

PRESS TV
Sat, 30 Aug 2008 13:22:58 GMT

Sarah Palin strongly supports oil drilling in Alaska and off the US
coastline.
For many, John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin for presidential running
mate came as a surprise. Political heavyweights such as Mitt Romney or
Tim Pawlenty had to stand aside for the little-known Alaska governor
with "telegenic" looks.

McCain's choice may not have been predictable but it shows him moving
further towards the interests of the industry most concerned about a
Republican victory this November - Oil.

US oil firms have given John McCain three times more declared campaign
money than to Democratic nominee, Barack Obama. Big oil contributions
to the Republican Party outweigh oil money to the Democrats by a
similar ratio.

Sarah Palin hasn't been in the game long enough to have shown all her
political colors but on one key issue she has made herself abundantly
clear. Oil drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge.

Palin describes it as "nonsensical" that the president should have to
"ask the Saudis to ramp up production of crude oil" while "sister
state" Alaska has the oil that "hungry markets" in America need.

"But these lands are locked up by Congress, and we are not allowed to
drill to the degree America needs the development."

Palin has also expressed support for a USD 30b gas pipeline project and
called listing polar bears as an endangered species a "significant
threat to development."

Palin's answer to America's "hungry" markets? Bring more oil to the
table.

McCain himself certainly opposed drilling in Alaska before he came out
in favour of it. In the past he has expressed views more in line with
Al Gore than George W. Bush.

In 2005, John McCain voted for a ban on oil-drilling in the Alaska
National Wildlife Reserve (ANWR). He has even gone on record
criticising America's withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol.

The Republican Party's Big Oil backers must have been quaking in their
cowboy boots when they heard McCain talk about devoting efforts to
alternative energy - which he described as "the ultimate answer to our
long-term energy needs."

Even as late as May 2008, McCain was saying that tapping America's
coastline for the nation's energy needs would be an inefficient waste
of time.

But by June, McCain had put his energy policy into a very different
gear and began to call for the federal government to lift restrictions
on America's own reserves.

"As a matter of fairness to the American people, and a matter of duty
for our government, we must deal with the here and now, and assure
affordable fuel for America by increasing domestic production."

This, despite a recent study by the US Energy Information
Administration which found that "access to the Pacific, Atlantic, and
eastern Gulf regions would not have a significant impact on domestic
crude oil and natural gas production or prices before 2030."

So much for the "here and now".

In the month that McCain made his Big Oil turnaround oil and gas
industry executives donated USD 1.1m to his campaign - compared with
just USD 116,000 in March, USD 283,000 in April and USD 208,000 in May.

Sarah Palin's strong support for drilling in the ANWR is no great
surprise considering her all-Alaska background. It is hard to win
office in the "last frontier" state without backing increased
exploitation of natural resources.

Palin's husband is also an employee of British Petroleum - the British
oil giant with significant interests in Alaska's oil wealth. That said,
Palin, like the new McCain, has come out in favor of reaching beyond
Alaska to America's coastlines.

"There are even bigger sources of crude than ANWR . . . such as
offshore areas like the Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea. Congress can help
us with those areas right now, bringing even more energy than ANWR and
bringing it quicker."

Few would have been tempted to put money on Sarah Palin being chosen as
John McCain's running mate, but for US oil industry interests, she
appears to be a safe bet.