The largest oil company operating on Alaska's North Slope has dropped out of the lobbying group Arctic Power, whose sole purpose is to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips dropped its membership in Arctic Power in 2004, spokeswoman Dawn Patience said Jan. 5.
The company provided the following statement:
"We have not been involved in the ANWR debate in many years and have focused our investment attention in Alaska toward the gas pipeline and development of other North Slope satellite fields. Since ANWR is currently closed to development, we feel that any resolution or pledge on our part would be moot."
Arctic Power said the issue was being raised by anti-development forces to coincide with the start of the new Congress.
"It is another grasp by the anti-development folks to change the focus from the true issue of responsible development of ANWR and debate the issues on its merits," said Kevin Hand, executive director of Arctic Power. "We see it as a transparent effort to negatively affect the ANWR debate with something that is quite dated."
Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., the chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has already started the debate. On Jan. 4, he said opening the refuge in northeastern Alaska to drilling would be one of his top priorities.
Hand said the last time ConocoPhillips paid a membership fee to Arctic Power was in 2003. While corporate memberships start at $200, ConocoPhillips at times was a "healthy contributor" to Arctic Power, he said.
U.S. Public Interest Research Group in Washington, D.C., and Green Century Capital Management in Boston, said in a news release that they had tried for two years to get ConocoPhillips to address the risks of drilling in ANWR.
"We hope that ConocoPhillips' decision to drop out of Arctic Power will demonstrate to members of Congress that even the oil companies aren't interested in drilling in the Arctic refuge," Athan Manuel, director of U.S. PIRG's Arctic Wilderness Campaign, said in a statement.
A coalition of environmental organizations and investors who describe themselves as socially responsible asked ConocoPhillips to drop out of Arctic Power at the annual shareholder meeting last May, said Green Century shareholder advocate Michael Leone. At the meeting, Green Century presented a resolution asking ConocoPhillips to report to shareholders on the environmental and financial risks of drilling in the Arctic refuge.
"We wanted the company to publicly assess what the risks would be," Leone said. "We think that is important to the debate in Congress right now."
After getting more than 9 percent of shareholder support - enough to refile the resolution - Green Century planned to present the resolution again to shareholders this year. It offered to withdraw the resolution if ConocoPhillips dropped out of Arctic Power.
ConocoPhillips is the largest producer by volume on the North Slope, followed by BP. Both joined Arctic Power in 1992 when it began. BP dropped out in 2002.
Patience said the company's business outlook had not included ANWR for several years.
BP played more of an advocacy role in the 1990s but has backed away from that role in recent years, said BP spokesman Daren Beaudo.
"We feel that the opening of ANWR is best left to the people and the policy-makers to decide," Beaudo said.
Beaudo said BP's business plan is to get more oil out of existing fields on the North Slope rather than looking to ANWR. BP is operator of the huge Prudhoe Bay oil field.
"It was merely a business decision to no longer be an active member of this organization," Beaudo said.
