Biggest Sale in Over a Decade

December 12, 2019

The United States just held its most successful Alaska oil and gas lease sale in more than a decade. This is just the most recent example of how valuable Alaska’s land is thanks to the oil and natural gas industry. In this case, the bids were over the National Petroleum Reserve of Alaska.

Reuters reports:

The 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve is considered a hotbed for new oil discoveries as development spreads west on the North Slope.

There were more than $11 million in total high bids for about one million acres of the land.

That is about 25% of the offered tracts, far more than in 2018, when only about $1.5 million in bids were received, covering about 6% of the offered acres. It stands as the state’s biggest sale in terms of dollars since 2006…

This sale is part of the Trump administration’s efforts to continue America’s current energy boom and make us not only energy independent, but “energy dominant”.

The Trump administration is in the process of opening up more of the reserve to leasing by rewriting an Obama-era management plan that put about half of the area off-limits to development.

It is crucial that we continue to invest in the oil and natural gas industry, particularly in Alaska. Hopefully, the administration is successful in its efforts to open up more of Alaska’s land to boost both the state and nation’s economy.

Alaska has the highest unemployment rate in the country, and any effort to bring good, high-paying jobs to the people of Alaska should be applauded. Alaskans want to stay in Alaska, live in Alaska, and raise families in Alaska. These efforts will allow more and more Alaskans to do just that.