The U.S. Department of the Interior said it will hold an oil and gas auction covering 400,000 acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) on January 9, just weeks before President-elect Trump takes office. [emphasis, links added]
On Monday, the Interior Ministry issued a record of decision and notice of lease sale, allowing the auction to be held before the end of the year.
The department will auction 400,000 of the 1.6 million acres of available land, the minimum required under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
In 2017, Congress directed the department to hold two regional sales events by the end of 2024.
During Trump's first term, government lease sales resulted in the issuance of nine lease contracts, for which only two oil companies submitted bids. The Biden administration reviewed and suspended all nine sales for 2021.
The move could create challenges for the incoming Trump administration in auctioning off more land in the area because Establishing new sales and conducting environmental studies can take years.
One of Trump's campaign promises was Increase domestic oil production on public lands by eliminating regulations.
Earthjustice attorney Erik Grafe spoke out against the auction, saying “drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is fraught with risk and no reward.”
“Oil drilling would destroy this beautiful land considered sacred by the Gwitchen people and further destabilize the global climate, but it would bring zero benefit to taxpayers or consumers,” he added.
“We are committed to going to court as often as necessary to protect Arctic protected areas from the impacts of oil drilling and will work toward a more sustainable future that is not dependent on expanding oil extraction.
The Alaska region has attracted interest from oil and gas groups for years.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates technically recoverable oil reserves on federal lands in the region at 7.7 billion barrels.
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