US: Drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is once again on the agenda of the Bush administration after the insertion of a provision in the federal budget that would overcome opposition on Capitol Hill.
The legislative manoeuvre would end 25 years of successful opposition to drilling in the region, which is renowned for its natural riches and the annual migration of a vast caribou herd.
Previous attempts to open the 19 million-acre Arctic refuge have been defeated by a filibuster or by presidential veto.
The only Bill to reach the White House was killed by then president Bill Clinton in 1996.
President George Bush has, however, made the opening of the wildlife refuge central to his energy plan and will not veto any legislation emerging from the Republican-dominated Congress.
The legislative device would also prevent Senate opponents from stopping the Bill through a filibuster, as happened several times in the past.
Supporters of oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), who include the governor of Alaska, say it will reduce America's dependence on foreign oil - an argument that has gained ground as petrol prices soar in the US.
Congressman Richard Pombo, chairman of the House Resources Committee, said: "A majority in the Senate support it and a majority in the House support it, so I think it is going to happen."
The Bush administration estimates that oil from the refuge would reduce energy spending by $2.4 billion over five years. Provision for such a reduction is contained in the federal budget passed last week.
Oil exploration in ANWR is opposed by the Gwich'in Nation, indigenous people whose way of life is tied to the calving grounds for the caribou.
Several Republican members of Congress also oppose drilling in the refuge.
A group of 15 Republican House members voted against the budget because of their concerns about the effects of new Arctic drilling on wildlife and the ecology of the refuge. As a result the budget passed with a majority of only three - 214-211.
This has encouraged opponents like Senator Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington, to believe there is still hope of thwarting the Bush administration's plans.
She said she did not think that the budget device was a "slam-dunk".
The first attempts to drill in ANWAR came in 1980 when then president Jimmy Carter gave permission for a small area to be opened to drilling, subject to congressional approval.
Oil is already pumped from Prudhoe Bay on the Arctic coast of northern Alaska through a pipeline stretching south across the state.