Most people don't really understand where the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is located and the relatively tiny amount of space within ANWR, (the Coastal Plain), that's been set aside for potential oil and gas development.
All of these new technniques have enabled oil and gas producers to develop new oil reserves on the North Slope for less than $2.50 a barrel. By lowering the finding costs of new oil, North Slope producers have been able to compensate for other costs, such as transportation, that rise because overall production from the North Slope is falling.