Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is complying with President Trump’s executive order to remove barriers to energy development in Alaska. Secretary Burgum is implementing plans to open up more acreage for oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) and lift restrictions on building a liquified natural gas (LNG) pipeline and the Ambler mining road. Interior plans to reopen 82% of the NPR-A for leasing for development and reopen the 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of ANWR for oil and gas leasing. Interior will also revoke restrictions on land along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor and Dalton Highway north of the Yukon River and convey the land to the State of Alaska. This will affect the development of the Ambler Road and the Alaska LNG Pipeline project.
President Biden’s war on Alaskan energy development was rampant as he pledged during his campaign to “end fossil fuels.” Upon assuming office, Biden:
- Canceled the nine ANWR leases obtained in the ANWR lease sale held during the first Trump administration, with Biden’s Bureau of Land Management and the Fish and Wildlife Service claiming that the Trump lease sale was “seriously flawed and based on a number of fundamental legal deficiencies.” That sale drew little interest from oil companies because the lease sale occurred after Biden had been certified as president.
- Closed off 13 million acres of the NPR-A, roughly the size of Indiana, which Congress established in 1923 as a petroleum reserve. The Biden administration, however, did approve ConocoPhillips’ $8 billion Willow oil and gas project in the NPR-A, but in a scaled-down form compared to the initial proposal.
- Denied a permit by the state for the Ambler Road mining project, which sought a right of way to access a mining district rich in copper and other minerals. Despite guarantees to access under the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the Biden administration suspended the necessary water and wetlands permits for the road, effectively disregarding a law in place for over 40 years that mandates the Secretary of the Interior issue permits for the project.
- Restricted 28 million acres of public lands in Alaska — nearly 7% of the state’s total land area — from oil, gas, or mineral extraction.
- Extended the oil and gas leasing ban to the entire Northern Bering Sea. Biden invoked his authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act to withdraw 44 million acres of the Northern Bering Sea and other federal offshore areas, totaling 625 million acres, from the Department of the Interior’s oil and gas leasing program.
- Held an ANWR lease sale mandated by Congress in January 2025, just before leaving office, that received no bids because his administration wrote the environmental impact statement and conditions for the sale to draw the fewest and lowest possible bids, for which the State of Alaska sued the Biden administration. The oil industry is hesitant to rush into developing Alaskan resources given its high-risk environment and the possibility of a return to Biden policies in four years that could put Alaskan resources off limits again.
ANWR holds an estimated 4.3 to 11.8 billion barrels of oil and vast natural gas resources. The 23-million-acre NPR-A is estimated to hold 895 million barrels of oil, although the estimates have changed over time depending on the management regime in place at the time of the assessment. There is also believed to be $44 billion worth of natural gas in the Alaska reserve area. A 1976 law requires the Interior Department to continue leasing in the NPR-A while protecting portions of the reserve with wildlife, scenic or historical value, or areas used for subsistence. The Biden administration used these provisions to expand protected areas, but the Trump administration plans to “balance the secretary’s responsibilities” while protecting surface resources. It also intends to work more closely with the local Native people, who sued the Biden administration for cutting off their future access to economic opportunity by placing significant portions of the prospective areas for drilling off limits.
Burgum’s actions provide opportunities for more investment and jobs in Alaska. They would also benefit the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) — a pipeline system that President Biden voted against in 1973 during his first year as a Senator — which is running at minimum flow levels.
Oil production in Alaska peaked at 2 million barrels per day in 1988 when TAPS was running full and has been declining since due to production declines in the mature fields of Prudhoe Bay, high exploration and production costs, and limited leasing activity. In 2024, Alaskan oil production averaged 421 thousand barrels per day — the bare minimum of adequate flow for TAPS.
Conclusion
Secretary Burgum is taking action to implement President Trump’s executive order to increase energy and mineral development in Alaska. It includes opening ANWR and the NPR-A to oil and gas drilling and lifting restrictions on the Ambler Road easement and the LNG pipeline. President Biden had restricted oil and gas development in Alaska, except for the Willow project in the NPR-A, though he reduced that project in size. Alaska welcomes the new direction since it provides for job growth and economic development, which are very much needed in the state. Oil production in Alaska has been declining since its peak in 1988, and the TAPS system needs more oil flow. Alaska’s Governor and Congressional Delegation have committed to working with the Trump Administration to ensure these policies progress.
