Is Palin foe of big oil or a new Cheney?

By Ed Stoddard and Yereth Rosen - Analysis

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Is Sarah Palin a friend or foe of big oil?

As governor of Alaska, she raised taxes on oil companies and clashed with them over a planned pipeline through her state.

But on the fundamental issues of drilling for oil and the environment, her positions look very much like those of the man she seeks to replace: Vice President Dick Cheney.

Palin, a 44-year-old mother of five whose nomination has ignited John McCain's campaign for the presidency, is a vocal supporter of drilling for oil in a part of northwestern Alaska inside the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

Her position strikes a chord at a time when high gasoline prices are hurting the U.S. economy. Republicans broke into chants of "Drill, baby, drill" at their national convention.

And she seems to go further than McCain, who has said he does not support drilling in the wildlife refuge "at this time." His energy details have been sparse so far, and analysts are waiting to see what effect Palin will have on his policy.

McCain rival Barack Obama, like most Democrats, opposes drilling in the refuge and supports energy conservation and alternative energy.

"The similarities between Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney on energy and the environment are very clear," said University of Alaska professor and conservation specialist Rick Steiner.

"They want to produce more hydro carbons rather than transition to a sustainable energy economy," he told Reuters.

Before becoming vice president, Cheney ran oilfield services company Halliburton Co, and under President George W. Bush has been a strong voice for more oil exploration as a way to reduce the U.S. dependence on foreign oil.

Like Cheney, Palin is on record as being skeptical that burning fossil fuels, which produces carbon dioxide, is the reason that temperatures on Earth are rising, a position that puts them both at odds with most scientists in the field.

Palin's backing for drilling in the Alaska refuge has many supporters in her home state, where oilfields are a source of jobs in a sparsely populated and inhospitable environment.

"We have so many more natural resources that we can't get into, such as ANWR. It would be more money for Alaska and more jobs for Alaskans and get us away from foreign oil," said 31-year-old Anchorage resident Kindra Bookout.

Palin's populism leads to an area where her energy position differs from that of Cheney, who has pursued policies that have benefited big oil companies.

OIL WARRIOR