Trump begins rescinding Biden's restrictions on gas and oil drilling in Alaska

The Trump administration took its first steps Monday toward rescinding President Biden’s restriction on oil and gas drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the nation’s largest tract of public land.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said Mr. Biden’s drilling ban there was a case of government overreach.

“Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America’s energy security through responsible development,” he said.

Mr. Burgum and two other Cabinet members — Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin — were in Alaska on Monday to pursue the oil-drilling agenda.

The return of drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve will help fulfill President Trump’s pledge to “drill baby drill” and boost domestic oil and natural gas production. On his first day in office, he signed an executive order directing his administration to explore oil and gas development.

Under the proposal, the Interior Department will rescind a rule issued by the Bureau of Land Management in April 2024 that kept 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) in Alaska off-limits to drilling. 

The rule aimed to conserve the land and protect the habitats of wildlife in the region, including polar bears and birds. 

Mr. Burgum said the 2024 ban ignored Congress’ mandate by “prioritizing obstruction over production and undermining our ability to harness domestic resources at a time when American energy independence has never been more critical.”

“We’re restoring the balance and putting energy future back on track,” he said.

On Sunday, the three Cabinet members met with U.S. Sens. Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, both Alaska Republicans, in Anchorage. The trio on Monday visited the petroleum-rich North Slope to assess the economic impact of oil development and will speak Tuesday at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s annual energy conference.

The National Petroleum Reserve, which totals roughly 23 million acres in Alaska’s North Slope Borough, was sectioned off by President Harding in 1923 to serve as an emergency supply for the U.S. Navy. In the 1970s, the land was transferred to the Interior Department, which opened it up to oil and gas leasing.

The proposed end of the Biden ban is one of several actions by Mr. Trump to support domestic oil and gas production. Earlier this year, he declared a National Energy Emergency, empowering him to revoke past regulations that Republicans have criticized as hampering the energy industry. 

Environmental groups warned that renewed drilling could damage the pristine landscape and threaten wildlife.

Marlee Goska, Alaska attorney at the Center of Biological Diversity, said the move will disturb the habitat for caribou, polar bears and beluga whales. 

“Trump’s fixation on plundering Alaska’s ecosystems for short-term gain is matched only by the stupidity of turning this precious place into a fossil-fuel extraction site,” she said in a statement. 

The energy industry was largely supportive of the Trump administration’s actions.

Dustin Meyer, a senior vice president at the American Petroleum Institute, praised the move.

“API applauds the administration for taking action to repeal the misguided NPR-A rule and fully leverage Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve as a drive of revenue, economic growth and energy security,” he said in a statement. “Our industry is committed to the safe, responsible development of Alaska’s vast energy resources.”