Thanks to technological advancements, like Russia’s creation of the world’s largest icebreaker Arktika, oil and natural gas reserves beneath the Arctic waters are easier to access than ever before. As a result, the Arctic now has countries racing to emerge as leaders in the world’s newest Great Game. But as major powers struggle not only against each other, red tape, legal hurdles and other challenges back home are causing the United States to lag behind in unlocking the Arctic’s riches.

In a recent move, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced a new approach to oil and gas leasing for offshore areas. The proposal, which until recently accepted comments from the public, includes one possible sale each in the Alaskan Chukchi Sea, Beaufort Sea and Cook Inlet planning areas and, unfortunately, it also includes the possibility of no new leasing off of Alaska’s shores altogether — to the detriment of U.S. energy security.