Two Magnificent Wins for Alaska’s Oil and Gas Development

January 6, 2021

The all-out attack on America’s energy workers may very well begin on January 20, 2021.  But for the last 24-plus hours, Alaskans who care about jobs and our state’s economy have been able to celebrate two significant decisions.

The first happened on Monday, when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) finalized its plans to allow for exploration and development on millions more acres in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A).

The second happened late Tuesday, when US District Court Judge Sharon Gleason denied a request to halt the first lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) 1002 area.  Gleason’s decision will allow BLM to move forward with announcing the results of the sale at 2:00 PM Eastern/10:00 AM Alaska time on Wednesday.  For those interested in seeing the bid openings, it will be livestreamed at www.blm.gov/live.

Of course, the radical environmentalists looking to force a “leave-it-in-the-ground” movement with any and all responsible development in Alaska (and across the US) were all stirred up with both results.  Taking to social and mainstream media to decry both actions, you’d have thought drill rigs were already rolling across the tundra and leaving polar bear, caribou and other wildlife carcasses in their tracks. 

Quite the contrary, as these are only (significant!) first steps toward future development, and the jobs and economic impact for Alaska that come with those jobs.  Leave it to the eco-extremists to overhype the demise of wildlife, even as they seek to destroy jobs, communities and families in the name of eco-justice, climate change and other equally silly rationales.

Power The Future will definitely be keeping a watchful eye on the results of the lease sale, and we’ll let you know when the eco-left continues with their “wildlife-over-human-life” mission in the Great Land.  With an (unfortunate) upcoming administration change, it won’t be long before they have a champion for that misguided thought process in the White House.