Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) joined Republican lawmakers in criticizing the Biden administration’s cancelation of seven oil and gas leases in Alaska, decrying the move as making the United States more energy dependent.
On Wednesday, the Department of the Interior said it would withdraw more than 13 million acres in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) from oil and gas leasing.
Furthermore, seven leases that cover 365,000 acres in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Artic Refuge) and NPR-A that were awarded to the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) in 2021 would be canceled.
The move has drawn criticism from Republican and Democrat lawmakers in Alaska and elsewhere, along with local leaders and Native American groups.
“I can’t explain to the American people why we would willingly become more dependent on foreign oil imports, eliminate good paying American jobs and drive up the cost of our electric bills and gas prices across the country,” Mr. Manchin, the chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said in a statement.
“This is yet another example of this administration caving to the radical left with no regard for clear direction from Congress or American energy security,” he continued. “Let’s be clear—this is another attempt to use executive action to circumvent a law to accomplish what this administration does not have the votes to achieve in Congress.
“Canceling valid leases, removing acreage from future sales, and attempting to reduce production in Alaska while taking steps to allow Iran and Venezuela to produce more oil—with fewer environmental regulations—makes no sense and is frankly embarrassing.”
The NPR-A is a 23 million-acre area in Alaska’s North Slope. It is the largest undisturbed public land in the United States. The department will ban new leases on more than 40 percent of the reserve.
The canceled leases were part of a sale encompassing the non-wilderness Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. These leases stemmed from a congressional mandate in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which required two lease sales of not less than 400,000 acres within the Coastal Plain of the Arctic Refuge. The first sale was held in January 2021, and a second sale must occur before Dec. 22, 2024.
‘Biden’s War on American Energy Continues’
Oil and gas development contributes a significant share of economic development and jobs across Alaska’s indigenous and rural North Slope communities, according to AIDEA. Those communities also rely on funding for services, schools, health, housing, and emergency services that comes from taxes on oil and gas activities, the agency said.On Wednesday, Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (ENR), said the Biden administration’s move “rewards our adversaries and hurts American families.”
“President Biden’s war on American energy continues,“ Mr. Barrasso said in a statement. ”With the stroke of a pen, his administration is placing more than 40 percent of the National Petroleum Reserve off limits for petroleum production.
“He is ignoring the law and making us more dependent on foreign oil,” he continued. “Not only is this bad energy policy, it’s bad foreign policy.”
Sen. Jim Risch (R-Idaho) took to Twitter on Wednesday, accusing President Biden of “stifling domestic energy production in pursuit of his radical green agenda.”
“His cancellation of leases and complete disregard for the law pushes us even further away from energy independence,” Mr. Risch said.
Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said the moves were the latest example of President Biden’s “war on American energy in order to pursue its green hallucination.” He added that it was an affront to both the law and Native American communities that would benefit from development in the region.
Lawmakers and local leaders from Alaska, along with Native American groups, expressed their opposition to the move, which they framed as “anti-development.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) office stated that the moves are in direct contravention of Alaska-specific laws, lack scientific backing or consultation with Alaska Native stakeholders, tribes, and communities, and come at a time when geopolitical concerns make the need for domestic resources greater than ever.
“The Biden Administration, at a time when America and our allies need Alaska’s resources more than ever, has decided to go their own way by further locking Alaska down while refusing to consult with the Alaska Natives who actually live on the North Slope,” Ms. Murkowski said in a statement.
“It’s not hard to predict what will happen as they allow the world’s worst actors to enrich themselves, while punishing Alaska,” she added. “Fewer jobs at home, more imports for California, and higher prices for everyone. These decisions are illegal, reckless, defy all common sense, and are the latest signs of an incoherent energy policy from President Biden.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said the actions were part of the Biden administration’s “unrelenting assault on our economy and our ability to lawfully access our lands.” He noted that there is “palpable anger and frustration among Alaskans” about this.
“This unlawful cancellation of AIDEA’s ANWR leases today now brings us to 55 executive orders and actions specifically targeting Alaska since President Biden assumed office,” Mr. Sullivan said.
He also argued the proposed cancelations would create a chilling effect, disincentivizing energy investment in the state.
“I am deeply frustrated by the reversal of these leases in ANWR,” said Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska). “I will continue to advocate for them and for Alaska’s ability to explore and develop our natural resources, from the critical minerals we need for our clean energy transition to the domestic oil and gas we need to get us there.”
