❓WHAT HAPPENED: The Department of Interior (DOI) has proposed reopening up to 82 percent of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) for oil and gas leasing and development.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: The Department of Interior, Acting Assistant Secretary Adam Suess, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, and the American Petroleum Institute (API).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The draft analysis was released on June 17, 2025. The NPR-A spans 23 million acres in Alaska.
💬KEY QUOTE: “Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re cutting red tape and restoring commonsense policies that ensure responsible development and good stewardship of our public lands.” – Adam Suess.
🎯IMPACT: The proposal aims to boost domestic energy production, create jobs, and reduce dependence on foreign oil while reversing Biden-era restrictions.
The Department of the Interior (DOI) has released a draft analysis proposing reopening up to 82 percent of the 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) to oil and gas leasing. Initially set aside as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy in 1923, the reserve was transferred to the DOI’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in 1976.
In 2022, the Biden government closed nearly half of the NPR-A to oil and gas drilling, reversing policies from the first Trump administration aimed at boosting energy development. The new DOI proposal reverses these restrictions as part of President Donald J. Trump’s policy push toward regulatory reform and “unleashing American energy dominance.”
Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management Adam Suess emphasized the importance of the plan, stating, “Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re cutting red tape and restoring commonsense policies that ensure responsible development and good stewardship of our public lands.” Interior Secretary Doug Burgum criticized a second 2024 Biden-era rule—which closed even more of the NPR-A to drilling—as prioritizing “obstruction over production” and undermining energy independence.
The Biden government’s 2024 rule had closed approximately 11 million acres of the reserve to oil and gas extraction and restricted construction on an additional two million acres. The DOI’s latest proposal includes rescinding both the 2022 and 2024 Biden-era rules. “Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America’s energy security through responsible development,” Burgum stated.
The American Petroleum Institute (API)—the largest U.S. trade association for the oil and gas industry—welcomed the move, calling the Biden regulations “misguided.”
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