Interior’s Burgum orders reversal of Biden offshore, Arctic drilling protections

By Ben Lefebvre | 02/04/2025 06:53 AM EST

The new Trump administration’s move will almost certainly face legal challenges.

President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in the Oval Office.

President Donald Trump listens to new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on Friday. Burgum has issued his first round of orders in line with Trump’s pledges to expand fossil fuel production on public land. Yuri Gripas/ABACA

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum issued orders Monday to revoke the Biden administration’s withdrawal of federal offshore waters and parts of Alaska from consideration for oil drilling, a move that is all but certain to face legal challenges from environmental groups.

The department announced the action as part of Burgum’s first round of secretarial orders directing the agency to follow through on President Donald Trump’s pledges to expand fossil fuel production on public land. Interior said it was carrying out Trump’s intentions when he signed an executive order declaring a national energy emergency and would “immediately identify all emergency and legal authorities available” to promote energy development on federal land.

Former President Joe Biden ordered 625 million acres of federal waters withdrawn from future oil and gas leasing last month using authorities under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act. The first Trump administration had sought to reverse a similar move by former President Barack Obama to protect offshore areas, though a court rejected Trump’s effort in 2019.

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The United States surpassed its previous record for oil production last year and is the world’s biggest exporter of natural gas even while its wind and solar industries grew rapidly. Burgum, under Trump’s orders, will seek to focus Interior on producing fossil fuels, starting with an attempt to allow more access to public land the Biden administration put under conservation.

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