The Trump administration has moved to reopen the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to oil and gas drilling, reversing one of President Biden’s signature environmental restrictions and cementing Alaska’s return to the energy map.
The Interior Department said Thursday it will restore the full 1.5-million-acre Coastal Plain to leasing, along with reinstating previously canceled leases held by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. The decision marks the most aggressive push yet to expand exploration in Alaska’s far north since the original Trump-era lease sale in 2021.
The announcement forms part of a broader energy package: the administration is also pursuing new lease opportunities across 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), a 23-million-acre expanse that Biden had restricted last year. Combined, the twin rollbacks could re-open more than 12 million acres to development, a move cheered by Alaska’s leadership and long sought by industry.
“From day one, President Trump directed us to unlock Alaska’s energy and resource potential,” said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. “By reopening the Coastal Plain and advancing key infrastructure, we are strengthening energy independence and supporting Alaska’s communities.”
Environmental groups called it a direct assault on one of North America’s last untouched ecosystems and warned that the move could reignite decades-old legal battles over wildlife and Indigenous rights.
Still, Alaska’s economic case is hard to ignore. Oil production there peaked at 2 million barrels per day in 1988 and now accounts for barely 3% of U.S. output. High costs, aging fields, and limited leasing have stalled investment for decades. With the U.S. chasing energy security and Asian buyers showing renewed interest in long-term crude and LNG supply, Washington appears ready to bet once again on Alaska’s North Slope.
The new policy is as much political as geological—a reminder that America’s oil frontier never really closed. It just waited for a friendlier administration.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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