{"id":67192,"date":"2025-11-03T09:57:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T17:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/energi.media\/?p=67192"},"modified":"2025-11-03T09:57:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-03T17:57:09","slug":"trump-officials-say-alaska-is-open-for-business-so-far-no-ones-buying","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/energi.media\/news\/trump-officials-say-alaska-is-open-for-business-so-far-no-ones-buying\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump officials say Alaska is \u2018open for business.\u2019 So far, no one\u2019s buying."},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was published by Grist<\/a> on Oct. 31, 2025.<\/em><\/p>\n

by Lois Parshley<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As Kristen Moreland waited for the livestream to buffer, her thoughts drifted to the years she\u2019d devoted to defending Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, the northeastern sweep of Alaska where the mountains give way to the coastal plain. On screen, the chatter of aides stilled as men in dark suits gathered behind a lectern. Then Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum announced<\/a>\u00a0plans to open the area, roughly the size of South Carolina, to drilling.<\/p>\n

It marked another round in the decades-long tug-of-war over developing one of the country\u2019s largest remaining protected areas \u2014 an effort that came to a head during\u00a0President Donald Trump\u2019s first term<\/a>, and\u00a0ground to a halt<\/a>\u00a0when President Joe Biden took office. Burgum also restored seven oil and gas leases that a state-funded corporation\u00a0bid on<\/a>\u00a0during the final days of the first Trump administration, and that his successor later revoked.<\/p>\n

Moreland, a Gwich\u2019in leader and executive director of the\u00a0tribal committee<\/a>\u00a0dedicated to protecting the Nation\u2019s sacred coastal plain, sat stunned as the YouTube stream continued. The place she grew up \u2014 where generations have lived on the tundra alongside the caribou, weaving their history into the land \u2014 had been reduced to a line item on someone\u2019s balance sheet. When Burgum said opening the refuge would benefit northern communities, \u201cit felt like a slap in the face,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve never reached out to us to listen to how this would affect our livelihood,\u201d she said. Moreland fears development will\u00a0drive the herd<\/a>\u00a0that the Gwich\u2019in rely on out of range and\u00a0contaminate rivers<\/a>\u00a0in a region where hunting and fishing are a matter of survival. For her, it felt like erasure. \u201cIt\u2019s another disrespectful action from decision-makers,\u201d she said. \u201cIt ignores our voice as Gwich\u2019in and violates our rights as Indigenous people.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the fight over development in the Arctic continues, federal officials are racing to fulfill Trump\u2019s \u201cenergy dominance\u201d agenda. Though the government is shut down and many employees are not getting paid, officials\u00a0continue approving permits<\/a>\u00a0for extractive industries. In a wood-paneled Beltway office, Burgum framed his \u201csweeping package of actions\u201d as a declaration that \u201cAlaska is open for business.\u201d<\/p>\n

To that end, the administration also signed permits for the controversial 211-mile Ambler Road to mineral deposits, including one owned by Trilogy Metals \u2014 which the Trump administration now holds a\u00a010 percent stake<\/a>\u00a0in \u2014 and authorized a land exchange that will allow for construction of a road through Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, at the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula. \u201cI told the president it\u2019s like Christmas every morning,\u201d Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy said. \u201cI wake up, I go to look at what\u2019s under the proverbial Christmas tree to see what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s announcement may not end up being the gift the governor is hoping for.<\/p>\n

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The fight over drilling in the refuge began almost as soon as President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the site, once called Arctic National Wildlife Range, in 1960. The most recent volley began in 2017, when Trump\u00a0signed a tax bill<\/a>\u00a0requiring two oil and gas lease sales there within seven years. When the first sale was held in 2021, the state corporation Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, or AIDEA, was\u00a0the only major bidder<\/a>. It\u00a0hoped<\/a>\u00a0to keep drilling prospects in the region alive, despite weak industry interest. The sale ultimately generated less than\u00a0$12 million<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 a fraction of the\u00a0nearly $2 billion projected<\/a>\u00a0by the Tax Act for the last decade.<\/p>\n

The Biden administration later found the leasing program\u2019s\u00a0environmental review inadequate<\/a>. It conducted\u00a0a new analysis<\/a>, then canceled the leases in 2023, citing \u201cfundamental legal deficiencies<\/a>\u201d and its failure to \u201cproperly quantify\u201d greenhouse gas emissions. The second mandated sale, in early 2025,\u00a0received no bidders<\/a>. Compounding the challenge,\u00a0major banks<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0insurers<\/a>\u00a0have refused to finance or underwrite projects in the refuge, citing environmental risks. Oil majors have also steered clear: In 2022, Chevron and the company that took over BP\u2019s leases on private land within the refuge\u00a0paid $10 million<\/a>\u00a0to walk away from them. That same year, Exxon Mobil told shareholders it has \u201cno plans for exploration or development<\/a>\u201d there.<\/p>\n

Still, this spring Trump issued an\u00a0executive order<\/a>\u00a0calling for the reinstatement of AIDEA\u2019s leases, and a federal court\u00a0ruled<\/a>\u00a0that their cancellation was handled improperly. The state-funded investment firm remains the sole holder of leases in the refuge.<\/p>\n

The problem is AIDEA doesn\u2019t have the capital or technical expertise to build out these areas on its own. It has authorized\u00a0spending nearly $54 million<\/a>\u00a0to develop them and move permitting for Ambler Road forward. That includes\u00a0hiring consultants<\/a>\u00a0for\u00a0seismic testing<\/a>\u00a0to map oil and gas deposits. But first it must get permission from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to\u00a0harass polar bears<\/a>, something that has sparked\u00a0viral protests<\/a>\u00a0in the past. AIDEA authorized another\u00a0$50 million<\/a>\u00a0for Ambler following Burgum\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n

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Ultimately, the state corporation is spending public money on infrastructure that private firms would normally fund, while sidestepping oversight, said Suzanne Bostrom, a senior staff attorney at Trustees for Alaska. The watchdog legal organization accused AIDEA of having redirected money toward refuge leases and Ambler from accounts within\u00a0its Arctic Infrastructure Development Fund<\/a>, and later its Revolving Fund, to avoid the need for legislative approval. Randy Ruaro, AIDEA\u2019s executive director, wrote in an email that it was not legally required to seek authorization.<\/p>\n

All of that aside, AIDEA\u2019s track record is pretty grim. Financial records suggest the corporation\u00a0lost at least $38 million<\/a>\u00a0on its last oil and gas venture, the Mustang field on the North Slope west of the refuge. After oil prices fell in 2020, the corporation foreclosed on the project. The state provided another $22 million in a\u00a02023 bailout<\/a>\u00a0before AIDEA sold the field for an undisclosed sum. Bostrom says AIDEA has \u201cno actual plan for seeing a return\u201d on its spending in the refuge. In fact, the people of Alaska often lose money in its deals;\u00a0one analysis<\/a>\u00a0found that almost half of the agency\u2019s investments have been written off as worthless. The economists who crunched those numbers found the state would have come out about $11 billion ahead if that money had been put to work elsewhere.<\/p>\n

In an email, Ruaro called the analysis a \u201chit piece\u201d and said the corporation has\u00a0 recorded its best financial performance in six decades over the past two years. He said that analysis \u201cfailed to account for the billions of dollars generated in economic benefits\u201d by the Red Dog Mine, which produces lead and zinc in northwest Alaska. The corporation poured $160 million \u2014 about one-third of the project\u2019s startup costs \u2014 into infrastructure to support the operation. At the same time, AIDEA\u2019s own consultants\u00a0concluded that the mine would be built regardless<\/a>, and\u00a0the investment was unnecessary<\/a>. \u201cAIDEA loves to point to the Red Dog mine as a shining example of their success,\u201d Bostrom said, but even taking those claims at face-value \u201cdoesn\u2019t erase that AIDEA still has no viable financial plan in place to cover the cost of building the Ambler Road.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ultimately, any plans for the refuge and Ambler Road \u2014 which the Bureau of Land Management has said would\u00a0harm Indigenous and low-income communities<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 raise questions about who benefits from such development. AIDEA has, for example, proposed\u00a0financing<\/a>\u00a0the private Ambler road through Gates of the Arctic National Park with bonds repaid by tolls,\u00a0a plan critics call unrealistic<\/a>, given the cost could hit $2 billion. \u201cIt\u2019s hugely problematic for the state to issue bonds with no viable plan for repayment,\u201d Bostrom said. \u201cThat\u2019s not a good investment decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Ruaro wrote that is only one of several options, and that he is \u201cconfident the mines \u2026 have billions of dollars in minerals\u00a0needed by the nation<\/a>.\u201d He also said AIDEA now estimates the cost at $500 to $850 million, and said the road can be built in phases.<\/p>\n

Even with prudent financial strategies, the economics of extraction remain precarious \u2014 especially as domestic oil prices\u00a0dropped below $60 a barrel<\/a>\u00a0this summer. Given the\u00a0average breakeven price of $62<\/a>, new Arctic production may not be profitable \u2014 though it would extend the life of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline that carries crude from the North Slope. The U.S. is already\u00a0the world\u2019s top producer<\/a>, and more output won\u2019t necessarily lower consumer fuel prices, says Boston University\u2019s Robert K. Kaufmann, because OPEC and other nations still influence global markets. (As to the \u201cenergy emergency<\/a>\u201d that Trump declared, Kaufmann said, \u201cI want what he\u2019s smoking.\u201d) Instead, the leases will bring more production online when \u201cany rational scientist is calling for reducing carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

Despite the risks, some communities in the region support new oil and gas projects. Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sits within North Slope Borough, which is larger than 39 states. Voice of the Arctic I\u00f1upiat \u2014 a nonprofit funded by the regional Alaska Native Corporation \u2014\u00a0notes that 95 percent<\/a>\u00a0of the borough\u2019s tax revenue comes from the industry, funding things like schools and clinics. Fossil fuel royalties directly benefit Indigenous communities like Kaktovik, funding essential services. \u201cWhen Uncle Doug [Burgum] calls, I answer,\u201d Josiah Patkotak, the borough\u2019s mayor, said in\u00a0a statement<\/a>\u00a0praising the Interior secretary\u2019s announcement.<\/p>\n

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Indigenous communities and scientists fear that development of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will drive away the caribou central to Gwich\u2019in and I\u00f1upiat culture. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service \/ Getty Images<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>
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It can be difficult to disentangle genuine local support from efforts quietly backed \u2014 or directly compensated \u2014 by the industry itself. During a legislative hearing earlier this year, state Representative Ashley Carrick said one person who testified as a community advocate was\u00a0paid by AIDEA<\/a>, something Ruaro confirmed to her that it routinely does. This can create the impression these projects are widely embraced.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this wide consensus that [I\u00f1upiat] people all want the oil and gas projects. It\u2019s not true,\u201d said Nauri Simmonds, executive director of Sovereign I\u00f1upiat for a Living Arctic. Many of those\u00a0adversely impacted by drilling<\/a>\u00a0stay silent for fear of losing work or social standing, she said \u2014 and some who have spoken out have faced threats and violence.<\/p>\n

Simmonds says what might be lost by developing the refuge can\u2019t be counted in dollars. AIDEA now holds leases in a part of the refuge where the Porcupine caribou herd gathers to bear its young. The Gwich\u2019in name for the region, where cool coastal winds protect the newborns from insects and heat,\u00a0translates<\/a>\u00a0to \u201cthe sacred place where life begins.\u201d Beyond its shelter, calves are\u00a019 percent more likely to die<\/a>. Scientists and Indigenous peoples fear the clamor of development will\u00a0drive the herd away<\/a>, severing a bond that has sustained people and animals alike for millenia. Even as climate change reshapes one of the country\u2019s last undisturbed ecosystems, it is political forces that now endanger it most.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the most wounding pieces is that this wouldn\u2019t be something that the companies would have gone after on their own,\u201d Simmonds said. \u201cIt is the enticements from Alaska, from the corporations, from the political landscape, that creates the appeal.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was published by Grist on Oct. 31, 2025. by Lois Parshley As Kristen Moreland waited for the livestream to buffer, her thoughts drifted to the years she\u2019d devoted to defending Arctic National Wildlife [Read more]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":67196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1034,41,80,14,95,425,584,598],"class_list":{"0":"post-67192","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-anwr","9":"tag-energy","10":"tag-environment","11":"tag-featured","12":"tag-fossil-fuels","13":"tag-indigenous-people","14":"tag-trump","15":"tag-us"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAlaska - Thoughtful Journalism About Energy's Future<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On October 23, the US Secretary of the Interior announced plans to open an area, roughly the size of South Carolina, to drilling in Alaska.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/energi.media\/news\/trump-officials-say-alaska-is-open-for-business-so-far-no-ones-buying\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alaska - 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