U.S. House Approves Legislation To Expand Energy Exploration In Alaska
As The Hill reported, on a 214-199 vote last week the U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill that would reinstate six leases that would allow energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Biden administration revoked these leases in 2023.
Supporters of the projects argue the contracts could expand economic opportunities in the area, including for indigenous groups such as the Iñupiat.
The new bill also would reverse the Biden administration’s recent move to ban drilling on 13 million acres in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve. As Connecting the Dots explained two weeks ago, that decision limited oil and gas leasing and shut down industrial development in the Teshekpuk Lake, Utukok Uplands, Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon, and Peard Bay Special Areas. It also totally banned leasing for 10.6 million acres. With those new rules, the department effectively blocked construction of an industrial road that would have allowed access to undeveloped deposits of minerals, including copper and zinc, in the region.
While the legislation approved last week has some bipartisan support in the Democrat-led U.S. Senate, it is unlikely to win White House approval.