The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) July 28 reversed three Biden-era policy documents that restricted oil and gas development within the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A).
BLM withdrew a July 2024 request for information on “special areas” within the reserve, a January 2025 report focused on maximizing environmental protection and a memorandum on interim management guidelines.
The Interior Department, which oversees BLM, said the previous policies were advanced “without sufficient deference to statutory direction, economic realities or the voices of Alaskans” and threaten to “unnecessarily restrict access” to US energy resources.
“Alaska’s resource potential has been held hostage for years by anti-development ideologues,” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement.
The actions are part of a broader initiative by the Trump administration to bolster production opportunities in Alaska.
Earlier this year, Interior rescinded a 2024 rule that put about half of NPR-A off limits to new oil and gas leasing and implemented a new Integrated Activity Plan seeking to add additional leasing opportunities (OGJ Online, Apr. 19, 2024).
Environmental groups have criticized the moves, saying that removing protections could cause severe damage to habitats used by polar bears, caribou, and migratory birds.
