By SUZANNE DOWNING
The Bureau of Land Management has approved an updated Integrated Activity Plan for the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, reopening nearly 82% of the 23-million-acre reserve to oil and gas leasing and restoring management consistent with the 2020 plan. The decision reaffirms the reserve’s original purpose as a strategic domestic energy supply and reverses restrictions imposed under more recent policy changes.
The BLM is now preparing to hold a lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve this winter, the first of five directed under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
While the agency has offered tracts in the reserve since the 1980s, this would be the first lease sale there since 2019. The BLM is expected to announce sale details soon in a formal Notice of Sale.
“This updated plan is a major step forward in restoring the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska to the purpose Congress intended,” Acting BLM Director Bill Groffy said in a statement. “By opening more of the reserve to responsible development, we are helping meet national energy needs while continuing the legacy begun in the 2020 plan for thorough environmental review and strong engagement with Alaska communities.”
To support the update, the agency completed an environmental assessment examining whether new circumstances or information had emerged since the 2020 plan was finalized. As part of that process, the BLM invited consultation with tribes and Alaska Native Corporations and held a 14-day public comment period on the draft assessment.
“The plan approved today gives us a clear framework and needed certainty to harness the incredible potential of the reserve,” said BLM Alaska State Director Kevin Pendergast. “We look forward to continuing to work with Alaskans, industry and local partners as we move decisively into the next phase of leasing and development.”
Congress originally established the reserve, then known as Naval Petroleum Reserve Number 4, as a strategic energy source to support US military needs during wartime. The Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 directs the Secretary of the Interior to carry out an expeditious program of competitive oil and gas leasing and development.
The approval follows recent actions by the Department of the Interior to roll back limits on development in the reserve, including rescission of a 2024 rule promulgated by the Biden Administration that restricted leasing, and withdrawal of three policy documents that sought to expand limitations in designated special areas. Together, the changes reopen large portions of the reserve that had been placed off-limits.
The decision advances the Trump administration’s efforts to expand domestic energy production under Executive Order 14153 and Secretary’s Order 3422, with the stated goal of strengthening American energy security and economic opportunity, particularly in Alaska.
