Trump administration finalises drilling plan for Alaskan Arctic

With just a few weeks remaining in office, the Trump administration has opened an additional 7mn acres of Arctic Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve to oil leasing, reports Arctic Today, in a move blasted by environmentalists. The Integrated Activity Plan replaces an Obama administration plan that allowed about half of the reserve to be leased but established protections for the other half.

The announcement came as the Trump administration is scheduled to open sealed bids in the first oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANRW).

President-elect Joe Biden and his nominee to head the Interior Department, Deb Haaland, oppose oil development in the Arctic refuge.