Interior Secretary Gale Norton wants the Senate to pass President Bush's energy plan, saying it would create tens of thousands of U.S. jobs and reduce the country's dependence on Middle Eastern oil. Speaking at the Independent Petroleum Association of America's annual meeting in Houston, Norton used Iraq as an example of U.S. energy dependence. The U.S. imports 700,000 barrels of oil a day from Iraq, and the money we spend on those imports surpasses the amount of foreign aid we give to allies such as Israel and Egypt. "It's time we produce energy from the USA, not put [money] in the back pocket of Saddam Hussein," Norton said. From an economic perspective, the president's energy plan also would put Americans to work, an increasingly important issue in this time of economic uncertainty. The plan would create 80,000 jobs in California, 15,000 in Louisiana and 60,000 in Texas, according to Norton. The House of Representatives passed an energy bill in August. The Senate has yet to do so, and some believe progress won't be made until after the first of the year. The biggest sticking point for Senate Democrats is the issue of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Bush's energy plan would open up a small portion of ANWR to drilling. The size of the entire refuge is as large as the state of South Carolina, but drillers would need access to only 2,000 acres to adequately produce oil from the "1002 area" under debate. Producers could get an estimated yield of 10.4 billion barrels of oil from this area, or 20% of the nation's yearly domestic production, Norton said. Meanwhile, the Interior Department is taking steps to promote domestic production. The Minerals Management Service's (MMS) Lease Sale 181, in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico, has received final approval to proceed Dec. 5. It will be the first lease sale in the eastern Gulf since 1988. The sale area encompasses 256 blocks, including about 1.47 million acres. The area open for leasing is smaller than producers had hoped. Norton acknowledged that some may be disappointed but the Interior Department estimates the area contains 1.25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 185 million barrels of oil.

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