Previous plans for drilling in the pristine environment have been scuttled by the Senate several times but now the administration has included plans for drilling in the remote region in its proposed 2005 budget.

Official estimates anticipate that drilling in the refuge initially will raise around $US2.4 billion in leasing fees, enough for a small down-payment on the new $US500 billion federal deficit. The refuge could also hold between 5.7 billion and 16 billion barrels of recoverable oil.