WASHINGTON — Opening an Alaska wildlife refuge to oil
development would only slightly reduce America’s dependence on
imports and would lower oil prices by less than 50 cents a
barrel, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Energy
Department. The report, issued by the Energy Information
Administration, or EIA, said that if Congress gave the go-ahead
to pump oil from Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the
crude could begin flowing by 2013 and reach a peak of 876,000
barrels a day by 2025. But even at peak production, the EIA
analysis said, the United States would still have to import two-
thirds of its oil, as opposed to an expected 70 percent if the
refuge’s oil remained off the market. At the same time, the
report said new Alaska production would stem the expected
dramatic decline in domestic production and extend the economic
life of the Alaska oil pipeline as production from other North
Slope areas declined significantly. But even the additional
domestic production would not be enough to ove