Biden’s leases keep oil drilling on table | Arkansas Democrat Gazette

JUNEAU, Alaska — The Biden administration has approved plans for a sale of oil and gas leases in Alaska that leaves open the door for drilling in a portion of the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The sale is scheduled for January 9, shortly before President Joe Biden’s term concludes. It will encompass a fraction of the land that was available for bidding approximately four years ago during a sale conducted under the Trump administration.

During his previous campaign, President Donald Trump committed to the expansion of oil drilling across the United States and heralded the passage of a 2017 law that paved the way for this announcement as a significant achievement in Alaska policy.

The 2017 legislation mandated two lease sales by the end of 2024, but major oil companies did not participate in the first sale. Following a review of the leasing program, the Biden administration canceled seven leases from that initial sale.

It remains uncertain whether drilling will occur in the refuge, as a lease sale is merely one step in a lengthy process fraught with potential litigation. Ongoing lawsuits are connected to the first lease sale, and environmentalists are prepared to challenge any attempts to initiate drilling in the refuge.

Furthermore, the Biden administration’s approval of the Willow oil project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, located west of the refuge, is still awaiting judicial resolution nearly two years after receiving approval. Despite this, ConocoPhillips Alaska, the company behind Willow, continues its preparatory work.

Once leases are issued for the refuge, potential exploration or development proposals must undergo environmental assessments, as indicated by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.

The law stipulates lease sales in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain, which encompasses approximately 1.5 million acres and borders the Beaufort Sea. This coastal plain represents just a small segment of the refuge, which features diverse landscapes and serves as a habitat for wildlife such as polar bears, caribou, musk ox, and various bird species. The debate regarding drilling access to the coastal plain has spanned decades.

For Indigenous Gwich’in leaders, the coastal plain is considered sacred, as it is vital for caribou calving, an essential resource for their community. Conversely, some leaders from the Iñupiaq community of Kaktovik, which resides within the refuge, have shown support for drilling.

The Bureau of Land Management has noted that the area available for leasing next month would involve minimal surface disturbance and would avoid crucial polar bear denning and caribou calving zones. The sale will cover 400,000 acres, the minimum specified by the 2017 law, contrasting significantly with the 1.1 million acres that were part of the initial sale.

During that first sale, bids focused on nearly 553,000 acres. Two leases were later abandoned by smaller companies amid ongoing legal challenges and uncertainty regarding the drilling program. The Biden administration has since canceled seven leases previously acquired by a state corporation, with litigation concerning this cancellation still in progress.

Erik Grafe, an attorney with Earthjustice, has been actively involved in the legal disputes surrounding the refuge and has asserted that his organization will continue to take legal action as needed to protect this area from oil drilling.

Environmentalists and climate scientists alike have advocated for a reduction in fossil fuel use to mitigate the severe impacts of climate change.

While the Bureau of Land Management has estimated that the coastal plain could contain between 4.25 billion to 11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil, there is limited data regarding the quantity and quality of oil available in the region.

Supporters of drilling, including certain political leaders from Alaska, have expressed exasperation at the restrictions placed on the upcoming lease sale and are hopeful for a shift in strategy under a potential Trump administration.

Nagruk Harcharek, president of Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, an advocacy group representing North Slope leaders, labeled the new lease sale’s scope as a “deliberate attempt” by the Biden administration’s Interior Department to undermine development potential in the refuge, opposing the desires of the North Slope Iñupiat, particularly those residing in Kaktovik.