Trump Moves to Lift Biden-Era Curbs on Arctic Oil Drilling

Environmentalists say curbs essential to protect vast region teeming with wildlife

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UTQIAGVIK, Alaska — The Trump administration is moving to repeal Biden-era curbs on oil drilling across most of the mammoth petroleum reserve in Alaska that is home to an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil.

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the planned policy shift on June 1 at a townhall meeting in Utqiagvik, a village on the Chukchi Sea coast, as he and fellow members of President Donald Trump's Cabinet visited Alaska to promote energy development in the region.

The measure would open up new opportunities for oil and gas development in the 9.3 million ha National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPR-A), an Indiana-size parcel in the north-west of the state that was set aside as a source of energy for the navy a century ago.

The action responds to a directive that Mr. Trump issued after his inauguration in January when he signed an executive order compelling a host of policy changes meant to expand oil, natural gas, and mineral development in Alaska.