United States To Open Public Land In Alaska To Oil, Natural Gas Drilling

Last week, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced it has begun a process to reopen millions of acres of public land in Alaska to oil and gas drilling. Specifically, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will issue a proposed rescission of a Biden administration-era rule that banned drilling on nearly half of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).

The proposed change, which was be published in the Federal Register, will trigger a 60-day comment period. Rescinding the current ban is expected to open 11 million acres to drilling.

The NPR-A, which encompasses approximately 23 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope, was set aside by Congress for oil and gas exploration and development as a matter of national energy security and policy in reaction to the oil crisis in the 1970s. “Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America’s energy security through responsible development,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in the department’s statement. “The 2024 rule ignored that mandate, prioritizing obstruction over production and undermining our ability to harness domestic resources at a time when American energy independence has never been more critical.”

The Interior Department said it had completed “a thorough legal and policy review” of the policy.