The Trump administration advanced a plan Tuesday to allow oil drilling in large swaths of a federal reserve in northern Alaska, reversing Biden-era policies that limited exploration.
The Interior Department released a draft analysis Tuesday that proposes to open up 82 percent of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska for oil and gas leasing. The 23-million-acre area on Alaska’s North Slope has substantial oil resources and is also a critical habitat for a range of wildlife, from polar bears and caribou to walruses and migratory birds.
“This plan is about creating more jobs for Americans, reducing our dependence on foreign oil and tapping into the immense energy resources the National Petroleum Reserve was created to deliver,” Adam Suess, the acting assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said Tuesday in a news release.
Recent Democratic and Republican administrations have fought for years over drilling in the Arctic. During President Donald Trump’s first term, he moved to expand drilling. Former President Joe Biden later banned or curtailed drilling in about half of the reserve, though he also approved the contentious Willow oil project that is expected to amount to around 200 wells that could be in operation for decades.
