Biden administration restricts oil and gas leasing in 13 million acres of Alaska's petroleum reserve
The Biden administration has finalized rules that would restrict new oil and gas leasing and development in portions of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska that are considered particularly sensitive as the Arctic continues to warm
JUNEAU, Alaska — The Biden administration said Friday it will restrict new oil and gas leasing on 13 million acres (5.3 million hectares) of a federal petroleum reserve in Alaska to help protect wildlife such as caribou and polar bears as the Arctic continues to warm.
The decision — part of an ongoing, yearslong fight over whether and how to develop the vast oil resources in the state — finalizes protections first proposed last year as the Biden administration prepared to approve the controversial Willow oil project.
The approval of Willow drew fury from environmentalists, who said the large oil project violated Biden's pledge to combat climate change. Friday's decision also cements an earlier plan that called for closing nearly half the reserve to oil and gas leasing.
A group of Republican lawmakers, led by Alaska U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan, jumped out ahead of Friday's announcement about drilling limitations in the National Petroleum-Reserve Alaska even before it was publicly announced. Sullivan called it an “illegal” attack on the state’s economic lifeblood, and predicted lawsuits.
“It’s more than a one-two punch to Alaska, because when you take off access to our resources, when you say you cannot drill, you cannot produce, you cannot explore, you cannot move it — this is the energy insecurity that we’re talking about,” Alaska Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said.
The decision by the Interior Department doesn’t change the terms of existing leases in the reserve or affect currently
Read more on abcnews.go.com
