Trump administration schedules lease sale for Arctic Alaska lands

By Yereth Rosen

 

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at a Keep America Great Rally at the Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky, U.S., November 4, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/File Photo

 

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - The Trump administration said on Tuesday it will be auctioning off nearly 4 million acres (1.6 million hectares) of land in Arctic Alaska for oil development next month, and it is promising much more territory will be open to development in the future.

 

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced that its annual oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska will be held on Dec. 11. The sale will be the 15th in a series of oil lease sales held by the BLM for that region on the western side of Alaska’s North Slope.

 

The BLM is also finishing up a draft plan to overturn Obama-era protections that put about half of the 23 million-acre (9.3 million-hectare) reserve off limits to oil development, citing needs to protect caribou, migratory birds and other resources important to the region's indigenous people and to the nation.

 

The Trump administration and the oil industry argue the Obama plan is too restrictive and needs to be replaced.

 

"With advancements in drilling technology, it was prudent to develop a new plan that provides for greater economic development of our resources while still providing protections for important resources, such as subsistence uses,” Chad Padgett, BLM's Alaska state director, said in a statement.

 

The reserve, which lies well to the west of the legacy Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk oil fields, was undeveloped for decades.

 

Several recent discoveries have sparked a westward expansion of oil development on the North Slope, and the petroleum reserve – the largest single U.S. federal land unit – is seen as a promising region for new Alaska oil production.

 

(Reporting by Yereth Rosen; Editing by Bill Berkrot)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2019-11-06

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No wonder he wanted to buy Greenland!

Full on vandalism.

The trashing of America for kickbacks~destroying the environment at the most critical time since man has existed.  Scumbags~there are constant oil leaks and spills on a continuous basis throughout the USA as it is

9 hours ago, webfact said:

"With advancements in drilling technology, it was prudent to develop a new plan that provides for greater economic development of our resources while still providing protections for important resources, such as subsistence uses,” Chad Padgett, BLM's Alaska state director, said in a statement.

BS.

10 hours ago, webfact said:

it was prudent to develop a new plan that provides for greater economic development of our resources

What would be more prudent would be to suck OPEC's wells dry, before tapping our reserves.

That's great news!

An off topic post and the subsequent replies have been removed. 

3 hours ago, timendres said:

What would be more prudent would be to suck OPEC's wells dry, before tapping our reserves.

Being energy independent.

9 hours ago, Crazy Alex said:

Being energy independent.

Donald Trump claims the US is "very energy independent." 

Several recent months have seen U.S. energy production outstrip consumption — which supports Trump’s claim. https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2019/sep/13/donald-trump/trump-exaggerates-us-energy-independence/

Donald will probably give the lease to Russia or his mate Vlad?Might as well have them on mainland USA as just a short boat ride across the straight.