Oregon Public Broadcasting

Democrats are expected to introduce a bill in Washington this week to lift the ban on offshore oil drilling.  Tuesday Oregon's Democratic Senator Ron Wyden sent a letter to the Department of Energy protesting the export of natural gas from Alaska. Ethan Lindsey reports.

In June and July, the U.S. Department of Energy reauthorized the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars in Alaskan natural gas to Japan.

The deal allows two major energy companies, Marathon Oil and ConocoPhillips, to continue exporting the natural gas -- after their current contracts expire next year.

Senator Wyden's letter says reauthorization was a mistake because Americans could use that gas domestically. Wyden says the decision also violated government public interest rules.

Healy Baumgardner  is a spokesman for the Department of Energy.

In an email, she says Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman had just received the letter and would respond promptly.

Political analysts say specific requests like Wyden's are part of an overall Democratic strategy in Washington - leveraging an agreement with Republicans on more domestic drilling, by asking for energy policies that most Democrats prefer.