Interior Dept. Proposes Opening Up 82 Percent Of Alaskan Petroleum Reserve

Authored by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The Department of Interior (DOI) released a draft analysis that proposes reopening up to 82 percent of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) to oil and gas leasing and development, the agency said in a June 17 statement.

NPR-A was set aside as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy by President Warren Harding in 1923. In 1976, the reserve was transferred to the DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

In 2022, the Biden administration announced the closure of almost half of the NPR-A reserve to oil and gas drilling, overturning a policy from the first Trump administration that sought to boost oil development in the region.

The latest proposal reverses the Biden-era restrictions, “consistent with the Trump administration’s commitment to Energy Dominance and regulatory reform,” the DOI said.

The proposal supports a presidential action, “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” signed by President Donald Trump on Jan. 20, 2025.

The action highlighted that Alaska has an “abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources” that could deliver energy price relief for Americans, ease trade imbalances, and create high-quality jobs.

According to the DOI, Congress designated NPR-A for oil and gas exploration in response to the 1970s energy crisis. The BLM manages the reserve under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act, which mandates an “expeditious program of competitive leasing,” the agency said.

Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess said the proposed plan is about “creating more jobs for Americans, reducing our dependence on foreign oil, and tapping into the immense energy resources the National Petroleum Reserve was created to deliver.”

“Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re cutting red tape and restoring commonsense policies that ensure responsible development and good stewardship of our public lands,” he said.

Reducing Regulations

According to the DOI, the proposal builds on efforts to reverse burdensome regulations that have been imposed on the oil and gas sectors and includes rescission of a 2024 rule that restricted leasing in NPR-A.

The DOI announced the planned rescission on June 2, calling the Biden-era policy an overreach that hampered domestic energy production.

“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.

“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. We’re restoring the balance and putting our energy future back on track.”

The Biden-era rule had closed roughly 11 million acres of NPR-A to oil and gas extraction and restricted construction on another 2 million acres.

Critics Decry Plan

In a June 2 statement, the Alaska Wilderness League criticized the DOI’s move to “gut protections” in NPR-A, also known as the Western Arctic Reserve.

“The Trump administration’s move to roll back protections in the most ecologically important areas of the Western Arctic threatens wildlife, local communities, and our climate—all to appease extractive industries,” Kristen Miller, executive director of the group, said.

“This is another outrageous attempt to sell off public lands to oil industry billionaires at the expense of one of the wildest places left in America. These lands are home to caribou, migratory birds, and vital subsistence resources that Indigenous communities have relied on for generations. The public fought hard for these protections, and we won’t stay silent while they’re dismantled.”

Meanwhile, the American Petroleum Institute welcomed the move to repeal the 2024 rule.

Dustin Meyer, senior vice president of policy, economics, and regulatory affairs at the group, called the 2024 regulation “misguided” in a June 2 statement.

Repealing the rule will “fully leverage Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve as a driver of revenue, economic growth, and energy security,” he said.