President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday night bringing “drill, baby, drill” to Alaska, focusing on unleashing the possibility of oil and gas development.
“The State of Alaska holds an abundant and largely untapped supply of natural resources including, among others, energy, mineral, timber, and seafood,” the order reads. “Unlocking this bounty of natural wealth will raise the prosperity of our citizens while helping to enhance our Nation’s economic and national security for generations to come.”
An incoming White House official previewed the order Monday morning, calling the state “key” to U.S. national security and energy dominance given its abundance of natural resources.
Oil and gas development remained at the forefront of the executive action, though the order seeks to unleash all of Alaska’s “natural resource potential,” including timber, seafood, and critical minerals.
It specifically supports projects exporting liquefied natural gas from the state, prioritizing any necessary permitting and pipeline construction to transport LNG to the U.S. and abroad.
The order also calls on the U.S. to “fully avail” itself of Alaska’s lands and resources, maximize the development of natural resources, and expedite permitting and leasing for energy projects in the state.
Trump’s action additionally withdraws a number of Biden administration policies related to the region, including its cancelation of any leases within the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
“By developing these resources to the fullest extent possible, we can help deliver price relief for Americans, create high-quality jobs for our citizens, ameliorate our trade imbalances, augment the Nation’s exercise of global energy dominance, and guard against foreign powers weaponizing energy supplies in theaters of geopolitical conflict,” the order reads.
The executive order is just one of several energy-focused actions Trump is set to take in an effort to lower energy prices for Americans and secure what the Trump team calls “energy dominance.”
The administration accused former President Joe Biden and his administration of limiting oil and gas production in Alaska, saying it has hurt the state’s “ability to produce wealth for American citizens.”
Alaska has taken center stage in the debate over increased domestic drilling in recent years, particularly as administrations have disagreed on leasing in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
During his first administration, Trump approved a total of nine lease sales in the region. Two were ultimately canceled by bidding companies, and the Biden administration reviewed and suspended the remaining seven.
Biden’s Bureau of Land Management held an additional lease sale in the region earlier this month but failed to receive any bids for the 400,000 acres available. The sale was congressionally required through the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
While the administration said the sale was evidence that the oil and gas industry is not interested in drilling in the Alaskan refuge, state officials argued that the auction purposefully restricted oil and gas development.
Just before the lease sale, the state filed a lawsuit against the administration, saying the available acreage was the minimum required under the 2017 law. By comparison, the state said there are roughly 1.6 million available acres in the Coastal Plain.
Combined with existing restrictions on surface use, construction, and occupancy, the state said the available acreage would have been “impossible or impracticable” to develop on.
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Last month, Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R-AK) accused the Biden administration of targeting the state in such agency actions, urging the president-elect to do away with what he described as “overreach … that lock up Alaska lands and resources.”
“Your election will haul in a new era of optimism and opportunity, and Alaska stands ready and is eager to work with you to repair this damage wrought by the previous administration and to set both Alaska and America on a course to prosperity,” Dunleavy said.
