Major Oil Companies Take A Pass On Controversial Lease Sale In Arctic Refuge

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Caribou graze on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Trump administration has held the first ever oil lease sale in the refuge.





U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service



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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service



Science
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It’s a striking moment in a 40-year battle over whether to drill for oil in one of the country’s most pristine stretches of land. The refuge is home to migrating caribou and birds, and an important habitat for polar bears.

Environmentalists and other drilling opponents have led an aggressive campaign to try to keep companies out of the refuge. A number of major banks say they won’t fund oil projects in the Arctic.

Opponents have also filed multiple lawsuits seeking to block drilling. They’ve raised concerns about its impacts on Indigenous people, the global climate, and wildlife, including the caribou that give birth in the coastal plain and the polar bears that den there. Even if leases are sold, legal experts say it’s possible that courts could later cancel them.

Normally it would take about two months to finalize leases. But the Bureau of Land Management is expected to rush to formally issue them before President Trump leaves office in two weeks.

Even if it succeeds, continued oil leasing and drilling in the refuge will face headwinds, says Congressman Jared Huffman, D-Ca., a longtime drilling opponent.





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Rep. Deb Haaland at a 2018 rally in Washington, D.C. to oppose drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior





Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media



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Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media



Environment And Energy Collaborative
As Oil Drilling Nears In Arctic Refuge, 2 Alaska Villages See Different Futures

The bill opened the coastal plain to drilling after decades of debate and ordered two lease sales, with the revenue aimed at offsetting massive tax cuts. But the amount raised is nowhere near what was projected.

The law mandates the second sale by the end of 2024, posing another challenge during Biden’s term. Congress would have to pass a law to undo that part of the tax act if it doesn’t want to follow through.