Biden Sets Last-Minute Auction of Arctic Refuge Oil Rights
[Stay on top of transportation news: Get TTNews in your inbox.]
The Biden administration plans to sell drilling rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge less than two weeks before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a last-minute maneuver that could complicate the incoming administration’s plans for driving robust oil development in the region.
Under the decision issued Dec. 9, the Interior Department will put just 400,000 acres of the refuge’s nearly 1.6 million-acre coastal plain available on the auction block on Jan. 9 — the smallest amount possible under federal law. The auction is one of two sales Congress mandated in 2017 as a way to pay for tax cuts.
Although the incoming Trump administration could seek to hold another far more expansive sale later, it could take years to move that forward, after required environmental studies and possible legal challenges.
Environmentalists blasted the decision, saying it threatens an area prized not just for its big oil and gas potential but also for its rich habitat, which supports waterfowl, caribou, polar bears and other wildlife. Conservationists and indigenous Alaskans such as the Gwich’in people, who consider the area sacred, also signaled they’ll mount a push against oil companies — and their insurers and financiers — to discourage bidding.
“Our way of life, our food security and our spiritual well-being is directly tied to the health of the caribou and the health of this irreplaceable landscape,” said Kristen Moreland, executive director of Gwich’in Steering Committee. “Every oil company stayed away from the first lease sale, and we expect them to do the same during the second.”
The Arctic refuge in northeast Alaska was once seen as a top target for oil development, given its crude reserves — a massive cache with the potential to flow for decades. Still, just two oil companies participated in the last sale — held Jan. 6, 2021, days before President Joe Biden was inaugurated — as the industry’s appetite was lessened by political uncertainty, the prospect of high operating costs in the remote region and mounting reputational risks for drilling in the refuge. The leases up for sale next month are concentrated in the northwest portion of the refuge’s coastal plain.
Want more news? Listen to today's daily briefing above or go here for more info
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has argued that new sales of drilling rights on Arctic lands and waters under Trump would face a different reception — with the prospect of support from Washington providing tailwinds for would-be developers.
Congress had mandated two oil and gas auctions in the refuge’s coastal plain by Dec. 22, 2024, as a way to pay for the 2017 tax cuts, based on expectations that the lease sales and oil development would yield more than $2 billion in revenue over a decade. Under Biden, the Interior Department suspended activities on the Arctic refuge oil development program and conducted new environmental analysis — and ultimately, all nine leases sold in 2021 were forfeited, with two relinquished and seven others canceled by Interior.
