Some interest in latest Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil lease sale

Juneau, Alaska (AP) — Two corporations bid on a handful of leases during the latest oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge on Friday, June 5, a showing critics described as tepid but one that further opens the door to possible development in the region.

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, a state corporation that already has leases in the refuge’s coastal plain, had the winning bid on three tracts and Hex Energy LLC on two, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said. The tracts cover about 72,000 acres. Nearly 690,000 acres had been offered. Winning bids totaled $3.7 million.

The federal agency’s state director, Kevin Pendergast, said a “new era of active leasing and exploration is just beginning to unfold.”

While there is no active drilling underway, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority’s board last month authorized additional spending for efforts including a seismic survey program aimed at locating oil formations, as well as lease purchases.

Opponents of drilling in the refuge’s coastal plain have pointed to a lack of industry interest in the prior two sales held there and ongoing changes in Alaska’s arctic region due to climate change as proof the region should be off-limits to drilling. There is pending litigation over the leasing program, dating to President Donald Trump’s first term.

The Gwich’in consider the coastal plain sacred because the caribou herd they rely upon calve there. The Gwich’in people’s reliance on the coastal plain “will be irreversibly damaged if it is disturbed,” Karlas Norman, first chief of the Venetie Village Council, said in a statement. “Even though we saw minimal bids, we will not rest until this sacred place is permanently protected for our children and for generations yet to come.”

The Trump administration has taken a keen interest in Alaska, and his tax and spending bill that Congress passed in 2025 included provisions mandating lease sales in three regions of the state.

In addition to the refuge’s coastal plain, leases have also been offered in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and in Cook Inlet, an aging basin that has provided natural gas for Alaska’s most populous region for decades.

Story by Becky Bohrer / Associated Press