US Interior reopens ANWR Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing

The US Department of the Interior formally reopened the Coastal Plain in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas leasing Oct. 23, a first regulatory step designed to encourage development of the potentially resource-rich but environmentally controversial region.

The DOI's new Record of Decision rescinds restrictions on ANWR parcels issued by the Biden administration in 2024 and reinstates a 2020 plan from the first administration of US President Donald Trump that made all 1.56 million acres of the Coastal Plain available for leasing.

Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum signed the decision at an event in Anchorage, Alaska, where he appeared alongside the state's congressional delegation and Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy.

"Alaska is such a gift to us, in terms of its incredible resource potential," Burgum said at the event. "It's vast, rugged and beautiful in ways that are hard to describe for folks that haven't been there. But it's strategically vital to us relative to its position to our allies and the Arctic."

The decision follows Executive Order 14153, issued by Trump on his first day in office, which directed Interior and other agencies to take every available action to "unleash" Alaska's "abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources."

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025, passed through the Republican-majority Congress and signed by Trump July 4, mandated four new ANWR leases in the next 10 years. It also reinstated previous leases authorized during Trump's first term but later canceled by the Biden administration.

"By reopening the Coastal Plain and advancing key infrastructure, we are strengthening energy independence, creating jobs and supporting Alaska's communities while driving economic growth across the state," Burgum said in a statement.

Potential and pushback

The US Geological Survey has estimated that the Coastal Plain may contain between 4.25 and 11.8 billion barrels of recoverable oil, significantly more than the 895 million recoverable barrels the USGS has estimated reside in the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

On Oct. 21, the Bureau of Land Management published a Call for Nominations and Comments in the Federal Register, formally kicking off the first lease sale in the NPR-A since 2019. The OBBBA mandates five new NPR-A sales by 2025. BLM plans to offer those sales after reinstating a similar 2020 Record of Decision that opened more than 80% of the reserve to leasing, but a DOI spokesperson confirmed to Platts that the decision is still being finalized.

NPR-A parcels have typically drawn industry interest, including ConocoPhillips' large Willow Project in the northeast part of the reserve. Prospective development in the Coastal Plain, the northern slice of a 19.6-million-acre wildlife refuge otherwise classified under the US' strictest federal land use laws, has faced fierce pushback from conservationists and skepticism from producers.

"Its tundra and wildlife are some of the most ecologically sensitive on the planet, and once they're destroyed, they're gone forever," US Representative Jared Huffman, Democrat-California and Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement. "Trump is doing what no president before him dared: sacrificing a national refuge to please his Big Oil donors."

Environmental groups have pointed to a Jan. 10 lease sale, which drew no bids on 400,000 available acres, as proof of producers' indifference. A 2021 sale likewise attracted minimal bidders, save the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state agency.

"Drilling in the Arctic Refuge is reckless," Bobby McEnaney, director of land conservation at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement Oct. 23. "The Coastal Plain is the nursery of the caribou and polar bears, and sacred to the Gwich'in. The market has said no—banks and insurers won't back it, lease sales flopped, and taxpayers are left holding the bag."

In January, Dunleavy's office sued the Biden administration over stipulations -- including location and size -- it said limited the lease sale's attractiveness. Republican lawmakers, including influential House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman, Republican-Arkansas, argued that prior lease sales were intentionally stunted by the Biden administration. After Trump's election, Mike Sommers, President and CEO of the influential American Petroleum Institute, told Platts domestic producers in maturing US basins would be interested in greater Alaska development, including in ANWR, provided they see "durable energy policy."

Local geologists have diverging views on the region's potential, with some citing promising technical features and others arguing promises of large reserves are political "hype." Little seismic work has been completed in the region. Results from the only exploration well drilled in ANWR are confidential, but Chevron and BP, which operated the well, have since relinquished their subsurface rights.

ANWR development has similarly divided political opinion locally, including among tribal groups. On Oct. 23, the Iñupiat leadership of Kaktovik, the only tribal indigenous community in the refuge, praised Interior's policy and reiterated the community's need for resource development income.

"It's vital that Kaktovik's perspective be listened to and reflected in federal policy that directly impacts our ancestral homelands," Kaktovik Iñupiat Corporation President Charles "CC" Lampe said in a statement. "It is encouraging to see decision-makers in Washington advancing policies that respect our voice and support Kaktovik's long term success."

In March, the US Energy Information Administration forecast Alaska's oil production to grow for the first time since 2017. Alaska production peaked at around 2 million b/d in 1988, but has steadily declined since. Increased production from Conoco's Nuna project, alongside Phase 1 of the Pikka development project jointly owned by Santos and Repsol, will drive the increased production, EIA said.