Nov. 4 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Senate Republicans will renew a bid to allow oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska after winning an expanded majority in the Senate and the re-election of the president.

The measure, a centerpiece of President George W. Bush's national energy policy, could be introduced in February or March, said Marnie Funk, spokeswoman for Senator Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate energy committee. The proposal for drilling in the refuge, known as ANWR, will be part of a budget measure that needs a simple majority to succeed.

In the budget bill, ``when it goes to the floor, you need 51 votes,'' Funk said. ``It can't be filibustered.'' Voters expanded the Republican Senate majority to 55 of the chamber's 100 seats, from 51 after the last election.

A similar effort in 2003 to allow drilling in the refuge fell two votes short. At the time, Senate Democrats joined by eight Republicans stripped from a federal budget bill a provision that would have allowed Exxon Mobil Corp. and other companies to drill in part of the 19 million-acre wildlife refuge. The vote was 52-48.

Democrats have also blocked efforts to pass the proposal by threatening a filibuster, which can only be overcome with 60 votes. A budget bill needs a simple majority of 51 votes.

Bush has pushed measures to give oil and gas companies greater access to U.S. reserves, including opening up about 1.5 million acres of the Alaska refuge to energy exploration. Alaska's congressional delegation and companies such as Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP Plc and ChevronTexaco Corp. have lobbied for the plan.

Oil Prices

Analysts disagree over the effect of additional Alaskan oil on prices. Crude oil has doubled in less than two years and touched a record $55.67 a barrel in New York last month, amid concern that global oil output can't rise fast enough to keep up with surging demand.

Crude oil for December delivery fell $2.06, or 4.1 percent, to $48.82 a barrel today on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Robert Ebel, director of the energy program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, has said that oil from the wildlife preserve will not have a significant impact on markets and prices. Were reserve oil being produced today, ``OPEC would be producing a million barrels a day less,'' Ebel said last month.

Bush's energy proposals also include regulatory changes and tax breaks for domestic energy producers. Domenici, a Republican from New Mexico, drafted an energy bill that stalled in the Senate over a proposal to limit the liability of makers of methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. The gasoline additive has been found to foul groundwater supplies.

Republicans will not attempt to move energy legislation in the lame duck session of Congress that's scheduled for the week of November 15, Funk said. When Congress returns in 2005, Republicans will begin work on a new energy bill.

``They're coming back to take care of the fiscal business that can be taken care of in four or five days,'' Funk said. ``We picked up four new seats in the Senate. There is every reason to move forward with a comprehensive energy bill'' early next year, she said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jim Efstathiou Jr. in Washington at jefstathiou@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 4, 2004 18:13 EST