{"id":372785,"date":"2025-03-30T09:02:12","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T07:02:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=372785"},"modified":"2025-03-30T09:02:13","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T07:02:13","slug":"alaskans-cheer-trumps-reopening-of-anwr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=372785","title":{"rendered":"Alaskans cheer Trump\u2019s reopening of ANWR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From CFACT<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Duggan Flanakin<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

George and Billy Pratt and Sam McCord found gold when they went \u201cnorth to Alaska\u201d \u201cin the year of \u201992.\u201d As Johnny Horton<\/a> reminded America in 1960, \u201cThey crossed the Yukon River and found the Bonanza gold\u201d in the land of the Midnight Sun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gold mining continues to be a significant source of income in Alaska, especially now that gold is selling at an all-time high \u2013 over $3,000 per ounce, up 35% since January 2024, thanks in part to a surge in central bank purchases<\/a> of gold as a hedge against inflation. The value of gold produced in Alaska has jumped<\/a> by over 60% in the past 14 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But there\u2019s another kind of gold in Seward\u2019s Folly \u2013 \u201cblack gold, Texas tea,\u201d the stuff that made Jed Clampett a Beverly Hillbilly. The first Alaskan oil well with commercial production was completed<\/a> in 1902 \u2013 during the heyday of the gold rush \u2013 and that small oilfield led to construction of the first oil refinery in the Alaska Territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it was the 1957 discovery of oil at Swanson River that, as Alaska Governor William Egan said<\/a>, \u201cthe economic justification for statehood for Alaska.\u201d When two Atlantic Richfield geologists announced completion of the company\u2019s first Alaska well, it set off a flurry of economic activity that some compared to the 1890s gold rush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two years later, the same year Alaska achieved statehood, Unocal discovered a major gas field near the Swanson River oilfield. Then in 1968, Atlantic Richfield and Humble Oil discovered the North Slope\u2019s Prudhoe Bay field, which contained so much oil the industry built<\/a> the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. Twenty years later, though, Alaska\u2019s oil production began a dramatic decline, from over 500 million to under 200 million barrels a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 2021, however, Alaska\u2019s proven oil reserves amounted to 3.13 billion barrels, not including the 2018 U.S. Geological Survey estimate<\/a> of 10.4 billion barrels of \u201cundiscovered, technically recoverable oil resources in ANWR.\u201d Still, two related issues have held back oil and gas exploration and production in Alaska \u2013 political opposition and industry response to political opposition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During Donald Trump\u2019s first term, Public Law No: 115-97 authorized leasing on about 8% of the 19-million-acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The USGS upped its estimated reserves total to 16 billion barrels \u2013 plus untold amounts of often associated natural gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a 3-year court battle, the first lease sale was allowed to proceed in January 2021. The change in political climate left the first of two required lease sales generating less than $15 million in high bids, mostly by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week after AIDEA signed its leases, President Joe Biden ordered a temporary moratorium on implementation of the Coastal Plain oil and gas leasing program and demanded a new environmental impact statement. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland canceled them in 2023, citing flawed environmental analysis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To nearly everyone\u2019s surprise, however, the Biden Bureau of Land Management authorized ConocoPhillips to drill up to 199 wells at three sites in the 24-million-acre Alaska National Petroleum Reserve, which lies west of ANWR on Alaska\u2019s North Slope. Nine months later, ConocoPhillips construction had begun, with first production expected by 2029.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then came the November 2024 election. The victorious President Trump had promised to revitalize the Alaskan oil and gas industry, and just days after the election Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy asked for<\/a> a state-specific executive order to set in motion \u201ccritical agency actions that would restore opportunity in Alaska.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To no one\u2019s surprise, President Trump\u2019s first-day executive order, \u201cUnleashing Alaska\u2019s Extraordinary Resource Potential,\u201d restored his first-term policies for Alaska. The order reopened ANWR and NPR-Alaska and charged Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to \u201cinitiate additional leasing\u201d and issue all permits and easements necessary for oil and gas exploration and development in lease areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Biden administration had canceled the required end of 2024 lease after postponing it to January 10, 2025, citing a lack of interest. No wonder, said Trump, they were not offering any acreage anyone wanted. Alaska\u2019s take, expressed in a new lawsuit, was that the terms of sale were too restrictive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On March 20, Secretary Burgum announced steps<\/a> to open about 20 million acres (82%) of the NPR-Alaska to leasing and development and to reopen the 1.56-million-acre ANWR coastal plain. He also lifted restrictions on land along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor and Dalton Highway and conveyed the land to the State of Alaska, paving the way for construction of the proposed Ambler Road and the Alaska Liquefied Natural Gas Pipeline project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The move pleased both Governor Dunleavy and Kaktovik Inupiat Corporation President Charles Lampe, who said his indigenous community had \u201cfought for years for our right to self-determination and local economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five days later, a federal judge reversed the Biden administration\u2019s cancellation of the 2021 ANWR oil and gas leases, giving at least a symbolic victory to AIDEA, which had purchased the leases at least in part to protect<\/a> the state\u2019s interest in resource development \u201cwhen the private sector has been blocked or discouraged from participation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AIDEA had a list of objections, but the one that mattered to the court was that Haaland ignored a statutory requirement of the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 to obtain a court order to cancel the leases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Senator Dan Sullivan (R, AK) said of Trump\u2019s executive order, \u201cIt is morning again in Alaska,\u201d some U.S. oil and gas executives were less sanguine<\/a>. American Petroleum Institute spokesperson Dustin Meyers said, \u201cThere is always the risk that these areas could be reclosed after the next election cycle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps because drilling in Alaska\u2019s North Slope is a high-risk endeavor that involves time and money, one oil company executive said many companies are unlikely to pursue exploration and development, even if they do seek leases, without an act of Congress to codify the Trump executive order into a law that could not be as easily reversed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many may wait to see the public\u2019s reaction to the administration\u2019s efforts to thwart the California electric vehicle (zero emissions) mandate, which has also been adopted by several other states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But global demand for oil and gas has been exploding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A 2023 report<\/a> cited a resurgence in Latin America driven by regulatory reforms, vast untapped reserves, and technological advancements. That report also noted East Africa, the eastern Mediterranean, east Asia, and the Arctic Circle in Russia, Canada, and Alaska as hot spots for investment with the right political climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On January 3, Oilfield Workers<\/em> took a broad look<\/a> at the status of the industry and concluded that,
for the workforce, a renewed focus on energy security is translating into heightened activity across the entire oil and gas value chain from upstream exploration to downstream logistics and storage. The interplay \u201cof new projects, technological advancements, and geopolitical shifts will create both challenges and opportunities,\u201d they concluded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up in Alaska, the champagne has already flowed, but rebuilding the state\u2019s vital oil and gas industry is going to take time \u2013 and money \u2013 but mostly political stability in Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Will the spiritual descendants of George and Billy Pratt and Sam McCord show up to claim their shares of \u201cblack gold across the Yukon\u201d? Or have politicians and naysayers turned that black gold into pyrite?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

George and Billy Pratt and Sam McCord found gold when they went \u201cnorth to Alaska\u201d \u201cin the year of \u201992.\u201d As\u00a0Johnny Horton\u00a0reminded America in 1960, \u201cThey crossed the Yukon River and found the Bonanza gold\u201d in the land of the Midnight Sun.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":372789,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818602,691834156,691834157,691822404,691834155,691818336,691834154],"class_list":{"0":"post-372785","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-alaska","9":"tag-alaska-industrial-development-and-export-authority-aidea","10":"tag-alaska-national-petroleum-reserve","11":"tag-alaskan-oil","12":"tag-anwr","13":"tag-biden-administration","14":"tag-trans-alaska-pipeline","16":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/06400r.jpg?fit=1280%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1yYF","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":382385,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=382385","url_meta":{"origin":372785,"position":0},"title":"Alaska\u2019s Resource Potential: A Tale of Two Administrations","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"09\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Alaska is home to some of the most valuable energy and mineral resources in the world\u2014resources vital not only to the state\u2019s economy but to America\u2019s energy independence and national security. Yet for years, Washington bureaucrats treated Alaska like a nature preserve, ignoring the people who live here and the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Alaska\"","block_context":{"text":"Alaska","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=alaska"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_13.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_13.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_13.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_13.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_13.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":279861,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=279861","url_meta":{"origin":372785,"position":1},"title":"Rick Whitbeck: Alaska represents classic environmentalism","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"22\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"In Episode 382 of District of Conservation, Gabriella interviews Rick Whitbeck of Power the Future. They recount and preview Gabriella\u2019s Alaska film projects, discuss Rick and his involvement with Power the Future, Biden suspending approved ANWR oil and gas leases, the Alaska model, and other energy issues Power the Future\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Alaska\"","block_context":{"text":"Alaska","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=alaska"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0rick-whitbeck-cfact.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0rick-whitbeck-cfact.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0rick-whitbeck-cfact.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0rick-whitbeck-cfact.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0rick-whitbeck-cfact.png?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":373420,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=373420","url_meta":{"origin":372785,"position":2},"title":"Alaskan Tribes \u2018Applaud\u2019 Trump Admin Revoking \u2018Deeply Flawed\u2019 Biden Admin Energy Policy","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/04\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Alaska Natives celebrated the Department of the Interior\u2019s (DOI) decision to reinstate leasing and expansion for Alaska\u2019s oil and gas, community leaders told the Daily Caller News Foundation.","rel":"","context":"In \"(VOICE)\"","block_context":{"text":"(VOICE)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=voice"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0GettyImages-1655589-1-scaled-e1742832964444.jpg?fit=1200%2C516&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0GettyImages-1655589-1-scaled-e1742832964444.jpg?fit=1200%2C516&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0GettyImages-1655589-1-scaled-e1742832964444.jpg?fit=1200%2C516&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0GettyImages-1655589-1-scaled-e1742832964444.jpg?fit=1200%2C516&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/0GettyImages-1655589-1-scaled-e1742832964444.jpg?fit=1200%2C516&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":381429,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=381429","url_meta":{"origin":372785,"position":3},"title":"Trump Admin Walks Back Biden Rule \u2018Smothering\u2019 Alaskan Oil","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"04\/06\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"President Donald Trump\u2019s administration is moving to repeal a Biden-era rule that restricted oil drilling and infrastructure across Alaska\u2019s National Petroleum Reserve, according to the Department of the Interior (DOI).","rel":"","context":"In \"Alaska\"","block_context":{"text":"Alaska","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=alaska"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/0ChatGPT-Image-4.-Juni-2025-16_46_37.png?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":277777,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=277777","url_meta":{"origin":372785,"position":4},"title":"\u2018Frankly Embarrassing\u2019: Manchin Unloads On Biden Admin For Restricting Alaskan Oil","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin torched President Joe Biden and his administration Thursday for their aggressive moves to curtail oil activity in Alaska.","rel":"","context":"In \"Alaska\"","block_context":{"text":"Alaska","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=alaska"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0joe-manchins-former-aides-lobbied-congress-for-oil-gas-and-pharma-while-he-fought-to-shrink-bidens-economic-plans-1024x683-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0joe-manchins-former-aides-lobbied-congress-for-oil-gas-and-pharma-while-he-fought-to-shrink-bidens-economic-plans-1024x683-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0joe-manchins-former-aides-lobbied-congress-for-oil-gas-and-pharma-while-he-fought-to-shrink-bidens-economic-plans-1024x683-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0joe-manchins-former-aides-lobbied-congress-for-oil-gas-and-pharma-while-he-fought-to-shrink-bidens-economic-plans-1024x683-1.jpg?fit=1024%2C683&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":223105,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=223105","url_meta":{"origin":372785,"position":5},"title":"Show Me the Way to go Nome","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"10\/10\/2022","format":false,"excerpt":"The well of human stupidity is supposed to be infinite, but in reality, it will run out shortly after the power does.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-457.png?fit=1024%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-457.png?fit=1024%2C673&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-457.png?fit=1024%2C673&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/image-457.png?fit=1024%2C673&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=372785"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372785\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":372791,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372785\/revisions\/372791"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/372789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=372785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=372785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=372785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}