Trump administration sells oil fields in Alaska reserves

Starting Tuesday, November 17, oil and gas companies can choose which parts of the Alaska Arctic National Wildlife Refuge they are interested in drilling. This is the latest attempt by the Trump administration to auction off development rights to pristine landscapes before President-elect Joe Biden takes office. NPR.

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The official "call for nominations" launches a 30-day comment period. It will also allow the Bureau of Land Management to promote the sale of oil leasing contracts, which it must announce 30 days in advance. The exact timing is unclear, but it raises the likelihood that the sale could happen just days before Biden's inauguration.

“It took quite a lot of work to get to this point,” said Kevin Pendergast, deputy director of the Alaska Resources Bureau. In a separate statement, the agency said the sale of oil leases would be a historic step "advancing this administration's policy of energy independence."

In 2017, the Republican-led Congress passed legislation that would open up part of the reserve to oil development. It provided for two sales of leasing contracts in the coastal part of the Arctic Reserve over seven years, the first of which should be carried out by the end of 2021.

But conservation groups are undermining the Trump administration's decision to push the sale now, roughly two months before Inauguration Day, saying they are speeding up the process "to open up one of the nation's most iconic and sacred landscapes for oil drilling."

The Arctic Refuge's coastal plain is about 1,6 million acres—an area roughly the size of Delaware, making up about 8% of the vast refuge. This is where caribou migrate, polar bears den, and migratory birds feed. It is also believed that there are billions of barrels of untapped oil in the area.

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“The timeline shows they're trying to do this in a way that won't cause public concern,” said Brooke Brisson, senior attorney at Trustees for Alaska, an Anchorage-based environmental law firm.

The Alaska Trustees are among several groups and a coalition from 15 states that have filed lawsuits this year aimed at stopping drilling plans in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge. The claims are still pending in court.

The American Petroleum Institute, the national trade association, welcomed the call for nominations, saying the development of the Arctic Reserve is long overdue, will create well-paid jobs and generate more income for Alaska. The industry will work with wildlife organizations and local communities "to develop these important energy resources safely and responsibly," he said in a statement.

Alaska Natives are divided over this, with some seeing opportunities in drilling, while others decry the impact on wildlife, most notably the Gwich'in, whose culture and food revolves around caribou migration.

“Any company considering participating in this corrupt process should know that it will have to answer to the Gwich'in people and the millions of Americans who support us,” said Bernadette Demientieff, executive director of the Gwich'in Steering Committee.

But it is unclear how much interest in drilling will be. It's expensive to do in such a remote area.

"The real trick is calculating the marginal cost of extracting a barrel of oil in this part of the world," said Andy Mack, a former commissioner of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources who pushed for the reserve's opening.

Other concerns include low oil prices, an impending change of administration and the risk of new environmental litigation. Some investors have said they will not finance new oil and gas projects in the Arctic.

Biden said he plans to permanently protect the Arctic Reserve and will ban new permits for oil and gas production on all state lands and waters.

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According to Mack, if the lease agreements for the drilling are concluded before Biden comes to power, it will be difficult to revoke them. But even otherwise, Biden will still face federal law that requires the sale of oil leasing contracts by the end of 2021. However, Mack said the next administration could impose restrictions.

“They're going to try to make it so difficult and burdensome to get multiple permits,” he said, “that companies will just say, 'We're not going to spend 10 years trying to get a simple permit, we're going to put our money and our investments elsewhere. "".

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