Energy groups celebrate Trump's latest move to unleash Alaska drilling
Conservative energy leaders are celebrating President Donald Trump's latest effort to unleash American drilling.
The Department of the Interior announced a proposal Monday to rescind President Joe Biden's restrictions on oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said a Biden-era 2024 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rule that restricted energy development for more than half of the 23 million acres on Alaska's North Slope ignored the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976.
"The National Petroleum Reserve (NPR), created by Congress over a century ago to secure America's energy supply, supports responsible oil development on 13 million acres," Frank Lasee, president of Truth in Energy and Climate, said in a statement shared with Fox News Digital.
"President Biden's drilling ban in Alaska undermined energy security, increasing reliance on foreign oil, raising gasoline prices and fueling inflation through higher transportation costs," Lasee added. "Resuming drilling puts economic growth and energy independence ahead of climate ideology in a place almost no regular American will ever visit."
Consistent with Trump's executive orders, the proposed revision reverts to regulations that were in place prior to May 7, 2024, which Lasee called a "commendable" prioritization of "American energy needs and economic well-being while adhering to the law."
"President Biden never should have halted congressionally sanctioned oil drilling in Alaska," said Sterling Burnett, director of the Arthur B. Robinson Center on Climate and Environmental Policy at the Heartland Institute. "Trump is to be applauded, both for putting Americans' energy needs and our economic well-being first and for following the law by opening these areas back up for production."
According to the Department of Interior, the 2024 rule provisions lacked "a basis in the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act" and undermined the BLM's congressional obligation to oversee timely leasing in the region.
"President Trump's move to restore drilling in Alaska's Arctic region is a bold and necessary step toward reclaiming American energy independence," Jason Isaac, CEO of the American Energy Institute, said.
Trump vowed to unleash American energy on the campaign trail in 2024 and signed executive orders on the first day of his second term to rescind Biden-era climate policies.
"By reversing Biden's disastrous restrictions on 13 million acres, Trump is unleashing the abundant resources that power our economy, lower energy costs and strengthen national security. This is a victory for American workers, consumers and allies who rely on stable, affordable energy," Isaac added.
Steve Milloy, senior policy fellow at the Energy & Environment Legal Institute, called the announcement "more good news from the Trump administration in rolling back more of Biden's war on fossil fuels."
"Promises made. Promises kept. But the Trump administration will need to go further to give investors confidence that the Alaska leases will actually be viable. Radical climate activists will resort to the courts and scare off investors. There likely needs to be a legislative solution to that," Milloy added.
Trump and his Republican allies are seeking to roll back some of Biden's green energy initiatives through budget reconciliation on Trump's "big, beautiful bill."
"The National Petroleum Reserve (NPR) was created more than 100 years ago specifically to provide a supply of oil for America's energy security. That energy security can be achieved by responsibly developing our oil reserves, including in the Gulf of America, our vast shale oil deposits in America's heartland and, now, thankfully, the 13 million acres of the NPR that are going to be developed," said Gregory Whitestone, CO2 Coalition executive director.
"Continuation of the Biden administration's drilling ban would have resulted in a greater reliance on foreign supplies of oil (and) increases in gasoline prices and the inflationary spiral across all sectors of the American economy from increased transportation costs," Whitestone added.
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