Biden Administration's move ruled 'improper' in case brought by AIDEA BY TIM BRADNER A FEDERAL JUDGE HAS RESTORED OIL AND GAS LEASES IN THE ARCTIC NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE (ANWR) THAT WERE AWARDED TO A STATE OF ALASKA AGENCY IN A DECEMBER 2020 FEDERAL LEASE SALE. U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason said former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland was improper in her action to cancel the leases. The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) had filed a lawsuit in federal court contesting the lease cancellation. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy applauded the decision. “This is about more than reinstating illegally canceled leases. It is about upholding the rule of law in our country,” Dunleavy said. “Now, the leasing program can move forward and could result in more safe, secure energy production here in Alaska.” It is uncertain whether President Donald Trump’s new Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will appeal the decision. AIDEA won seven federal leases in the 2020 sale, which saw bids from only two others, an independent explorer and an Anchorage-based real estate company. The sale was held in the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain, which is in the far northern part of the Arctic refuge, which covers 18 million acres. A week after the leases were awarded in January 2021, President Joe Biden took office and ordered a moratorium on approvals for activity on the leases. Faced with opposition from Biden, the two private bidders withdrew from their leases, citing continued costs against dim prospects that Biden’s Interior Secretary, Haaland, would approve permits for exploration. This left AIDEA, the state’s development finance agency, as the remaining holder of leases. ANWR has been a political hot potato in Alaska since the refuge was created by Congress in 1980. Most of the refuge was placed in a protected wilderness status but the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain was kept out of the wilderness designation because of its oil and gas potential. The area is east of the central North Slope where major oil and gas fields, now producing, were made in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, other finds were made as explorers worked their way east from Prudhoe Bay toward the western border of ANWR on the Canning River. Given that the favorable geology extends further east into the coastal plain of the refuge, it’s likely discoveries will also be made. The government has not allowed exploration, however. That is likely to change soon. AIDEA has previously said it will not develop any discoveries itself but will contract out the 20 ALASKA RESOURCE REVIEW SPRING 2025 ALASKA COURT RESTORES CANCELED ANWR LEASES Most of the refuge was placed in a protected wilderness status but the 1.5-million-acre coastal plain was kept out of the wilderness designation because of its oil and gas potential. CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
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