Biden administration cancels remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge

[PanamaSteve]

Biden administration cancels remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic Refuge Angering Republicans, the Biden administration canceled the seven remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Wednesday, overturning sales held in the Trump administration’s waning days. The administration proposed stronger protections against development on vast swaths of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Read more.

Why this matters: The Interior Department’s move comes after the Biden administration disappointed environmental groups earlier this year by approving the Willow oil project in the petroleum reserve, a massive endeavor by ConocoPhillips Alaska that could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day on Alaska’s North Slope. Some critics who said the approval of Willow flew in the face of Biden’s pledges to address climate change lauded Wednesday’s announcement. But they said more could be done. Alaska’s Republican governor condemned Biden’s moves and threatened to sue. And at least one Democratic lawmaker said the decision could hurt Indigenous communities in an isolated region where oil development is an important economic driver. The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s 1.5-million-acre coastal plain, which lies along the Beaufort Sea on Alaska’s northeastern edge, is seen as sacred by the Indigenous Gwich’in because it is where caribou migrate and come to give birth.