Overview

• The proposal would annul Biden’s April 2024 rule that barred drilling on roughly 10.6 million acres and imposed restrictions on an additional 2 million acres of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
• Interior Secretary Doug Burgum argues the 2024 rule exceeded the authority of the 1976 Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act and diverted from Congress’s intent to support responsible energy development.
• The NPR-A is estimated to hold about 8.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil and 52.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and expanded leasing could potentially quadruple oil output on Alaska’s North Slope.
• Supporters such as Voice of the Arctic Inupiat president Nagruk Harcharek say the move recognizes Alaska Native partnership in resource development; environmental groups warn it threatens critical wildlife habitat and worsens climate change.
• Conservation groups are poised to file legal challenges as the 60-day public comment period concludes and the Interior Department prepares final rulemaking steps this summer.