By SUZANNE DOWNING
March 18, 2026 – A long-awaited oil and gas lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska got underway Wednesday morning, drawing strong industry interest and signaling a major shift in federal energy policy affecting Alaska.
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The sale, conducted by the Bureau of Land Management under the Department of the Interior, offered more than 600 tracts spanning roughly 5.5 million acres on Alaska’s North Slope. It is the first lease sale in the NPR-A since 2019, and the first required under the 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which mandates at least five such sales over the next decade.
Update from livestream: Lots of bids from ConocoPhillips. and Repsol/Shell have won 7 bids so far of over 2.4 million each.
Early indications show robust participation. More than 400 bids were submitted covering about 200 tracts, with ConocoPhillips emerging as a dominant bidder. Other major players included Shell, ExxonMobil, and Armstrong Oil & Gas.
Bids were due by 4 pm Monday, with bid opening and public reading beginning at 10 am Wednesday via a livestream hosted by BLM Alaska.
The scale of the sale reflects a broader policy shift. The offering follows a 2025 Record of Decision that makes approximately 82% of the 23-million-acre reserve, about 18.6 million acres, available for leasing, though with environmental stipulations aimed at protecting sensitive surface resources.
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The renewed leasing activity comes after years of restrictions and legal disputes. It was enabled in part by executive actions under President Donald Trump, as well as Congressional Review Act resolutions overturning Biden-era regulations that had limited development in the reserve.
Alaska’s congressional delegation played a central role in those reversals, and Congressman Nick Begich and Dan Sullivan’s work in advancing the CRA measures that cleared the way for the lease sale to proceed.
Industry response stands in contrast to some recent federal lease offerings elsewhere in Alaska. An offshore Cook Inlet lease sale earlier this month drew little to no interest, highlighting how geography, resource potential, and regulatory certainty continue to shape investment decisions.
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The NPR-A, by comparison, remains one of the most prospective onshore oil regions in the United States, with existing infrastructure nearby and ongoing development projects on the North Slope.
Environmental and Alaska Native groups had filed legal challenges seeking to delay or block the sale, citing concerns over wildlife, subsistence uses, and climate impacts, but no injunctions are currently in place, allowing the sale to proceed as scheduled.
Final results, including high bids, winning bidders and total acreage leased, are expected to be released by BLM following processing of the bids.
For Alaska leaders and industry advocates, Wednesday’s lease sale marks a reopening of federal lands to large-scale energy development and a test of long-term investor confidence in Alaska’s resource future.
One thought on “Breaking: NPR-A bids announced, major oil companies show interest in Alaska again, marking a reversal”
But for how long? The Republicans csn always lose the 2028 President election. Then even closer is Alaska’s getting a new Governor and most likely the legislature won’t change much from what it has been the last eight years. Apart from
President Trump Alaska is not yet ready for these prospective investors and company owners and executives. From the people of Alaska to the legislature we’d waste their time and money taking them around the merry-a-go-around giving them the run around