Trump auctions off rights to drill in Alaska wildlife refuge, but gets few bidders
The sale drew $3.7 million in winning bids as only 5 of nearly 690,000 acres offered received bids, officials said.
- The Bureau of Land Management sold five Arctic National Wildlife Refuge tracts on Friday for $3.7 million, with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority winning three and Hex Energy LLC securing two covering about 72,000 acres.
- President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, passed by Congress last year, mandated lease sales across three Alaska regions to open more lands for potential oil drilling and development.
- Nearly 690,000 acres had been offered for lease in the Arctic refuge and related areas. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority's board last month authorized seismic surveys and lease purchases despite no active drilling underway.
- Voice of the Arctic, an Alaska Native advocacy group, hailed the sale as advancing self-determination, while the Gwich people stated the coastal plain 'will be irreversibly damaged if it is disturbed.'
- Geological Survey estimates indicate the coastal plain could contain 4.25 billion to 11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Bureau state director Kevin Pendergast said a 'new era of active leasing and exploration is just beginning to unfold.
44 Articles
44 Articles
Trump’s Controversial Sale of Arctic Drilling Rights Draws Almost No Interest
A controversial oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge drew one big bid Friday from an independent Anchorage-based natural gas producer, along with a smattering of other bids from a state economic development agency. HEX Energy LLC, which produces natural gas in Cook Inlet but has never operated on the North Slope, bid $1.7 million for a single lease bordering state… Source
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
Arctic refuge oil draws few bids, despite Trump’s push for ‘liquid gold’
WASHINGTON — An auction of oil leases in Alaska’s remote Arctic National Wildlife Refuge ended Friday with just nine bids covering only about 10% of the available land, undercutting President Donald Trump’s claims that drilling in the pristine wilderness area would set off an economic boom. The post Arctic refuge oil draws few bids, despite Trump’s push for ‘liquid gold’ appeared first on Hawaii Tribune-Herald.
Trump's ANWR Oil and Gas Auction Was a Bust—But Alaskan Arctic Still Faces Fossil Fuel Threat
"Even though the interest in today’s sale was tepid, the new leasing still poses significant threats to habitat, iconic wildlife, and Indigenous ways of life," said Earthjustice.
Alaska Beacon
Controversial oil lease sale in Alaska wildlife refuge draws limited interest
The Canning River, seen here in 2018, flows from the Brooks Range into the Beaufort Sea along the western edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The river marks the boundary between the refuge, which is managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, and state land on the North Slope. Results of an oil lease sale that offered 58 tracts in the refuge's coastal plan drew bids on five tracts. The highest-dollar bid was for a tract right at the…
Oil Companies Skip Auction of Leases for Alaskan Refuge
The Trump administration's latest attempt to encourage drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge landed with a thud on Friday. An oil lease auction for part of the 19.3 million-acre refuge drew just two bidders—neither a major oil company—that together committed $3.7 million for five tracts...
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