Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources …

AP FILE PHOTO, JUNE 6, 2013 | published: January 2, 2014

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee ranking Republican, left, talks with committee member Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., on Capitol Hill in Washington. The U.S. is racing to keep pace with stepped-up activity in the once-sleepy Arctic frontier, but it is far from being in the lead. Nations across the world are hurrying to stake claim to the Arctic’s resources, which might be home to 13 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its untapped natural gas.