Report: Trump to re-open Arctic waters to oil leasing

The green squares are Shell leases.
Map of previous Chukchi Sea leases. (Image: BOEM)

President Trump may soon issue an executive order intended to lift restrictions on oil development in Arctic waters. That’s according to a Bloomberg news story. It cites three unnamed sources who say Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke spoke of it at an industry conference that was closed to reporters.

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The order would aim to reverse a decision by former President Obama to indefinitely close most U.S. Arctic waters to leasing. Obama used a legal mechanism known as a “12a withdrawal.”  Environmentalists argue it can’t be revoked, so a court challenge is likely.

Bloomberg says the White House directive would also press the Interior Department to add Arctic areas to the department’s five-year offshore leasing plan.

Alaska’s U.S. senators are also working to re-open Arctic waters to leasing. Thursday, they jointly introduced a bill to repeal Obama’s Arctic withdrawals and require new lease sales.

Liz Ruskin is the Washington, D.C., correspondent at Alaska Public Media. Reach her at lruskin@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Liz here.

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