Biden Slashes Millions of Acres Eligible for Oil Drilling in Alaska

The Biden administration is closing off almost half of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska from oil and gas drilling, overturning a Trump-era policy that would have allowed oil development on more than 80 percent of the reserve.

The remaining approximately 11 million acres-which includes the majority of lands within "Special areas" and much of the coastal area of the reserve along the Beaufort Sea-will be closed off to oil and gas leasing.

In 2019, the area generated more than $56 million in oil and gas lease revenue, which is authorized under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976.

The Trump administration's plan, aimed at creating a stronger and more energy-independent nation, would have allowed for oil and gas leasing across 18.6 million acres of the NPRA. However, it also included various safeguards for wildlife and sensitive resources.

BLM said the new plan adopted this week provides "Greater protections to environmental values and subsistence uses in the NPR-A while still allowing for oil and gas exploration and development consistent with BLM's management responsibilities under the NPRPA.".

The decision-which comes amid increasingly volatile global oil prices-was praised by environmental groups on Monday.

"The previous administration's move to open more than 82 percent of the reserve to oil and gas leasing failed to address the realities of the climate crisis or impacts to the region's significant wildlife and wilderness values," Alaska Wilderness League Conservation Director Kristen Miller said.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/biden-slashes-millions-of-acres-eligible-for-oil-drilling-in-alaska_4427694.html?utm_source=partner&utm_campaign=TheLibertyDaily