Oil and Gas Development in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve

June 28, 2024 An organization representing various Alaskan cities and regional and native corporations, Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat, sued BLM over its final rule published on May 7. The complaint alleged the rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act, among other laws, and is “directly contrary” to Congress’s purpose in creating the NPR-A. Voice of the Arctic Iñupiat v. BLM, No. 24-136 (D. Alaska). The State of Alaska, ConocoPhillips Alaska, and two other oil and gas companies filed separate lawsuits on July 3, 2024 challenging the rule. State of Alaska v. BLM, No. 3:24-cv-00144 (D. Alaska); ConocoPhillips Alaska v. BLM, No. 3:24-cv-00142 (D. Alaska); North Slope Exploration, LLC et al., v. Dep’t of the Interior, 3:24-cv-00143 (D. Alaska).

May 7, 2024 BLM published a final rule updating its regulations for managing the NPR-A, prohibiting oil and gas development activities on 11 million acres of the NPR-A, with 11.8 million acres open to oil and gas leasing subject to additional conditions. For example, under the final rule, companies must offset the “reasonably foreseeable and significantly adverse effects” of drilling proposals. The rule also requires BLM to consider “Indigenous Knowledge” when evaluating resources for the designation, de-designation, and management of “special areas,” which receive maximum protections. The rule does not affect “valid existing rights” in the reserve. The rule will go into effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.

April 19, 2024 BLM issued a final supplemental environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the Ambler Road project, a project proposed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) that would build a 211-mile-long road across the Brooks Range in north central Alaska. In the FEIS, BLM selected the “no action” alternative, finding that building the road would “significantly and irrevocably impact resources . . . in ways that cannot be adequately mitigated.” If BLM finalizes this selection in a record of decision (ROD), the agency won’t grant AIDEA the right-of-way needed to build the road.

Dec. 18, 2023 The Iñupiat village of Nuiqsut’s tribal and city councils passed resolutions rescinding their opposition to the Willow Project.

Nov. 14, 2023 Environmental and Alaska Native groups appealed the District Court for the District of Alaska’s dismissal of their claims to the Ninth Circuit. On Nov. 15, 2023, the groups also filed a motion at the district court for an injunction to block construction on the project pending appeal. On Dec. 1, 2023, the district court denied that motion. Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, et al., v. BLM et al., No. 3:23-cv-00058-SLG (D. Alaska); Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. BLM et al., No. 3:23-cv-00061-SLG (D. Alaska). The appeals were docketed as Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, et al. v. United States Bureau of Land Management, et al., No. 23-3627 (9th Cir.) and Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. BLM, et al., No. 23-3624 (9th Cir.). The Court of Appeals consolidated the cases sua sponte on Dec. 18, 2023 under Docket No. 23-3624, and held oral argument on Feb. 5, 2024. Center for Biological Diversity et al., v. BLM et al., No. 23-3624 (9th Cir.).

Nov. 8, 2023 The District Court for the District of Alaska dismissed claims brought by environmental and Alaska Native groups challenging the approval of the Willow Project. In a consolidated opinion, the court rejected claims that DOI should have considered less intensive alternative project designs, stating such alternatives would be “inconsistent with the Congressional policy objective of resource extraction in the NPR-A.” Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, et al., v. BLM et al., No. 3:23-cv-00058-SLG (D. Alaska); Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. BLM et al., No. 3:23-cv-00061-SLG (D. Alaska). Plaintiffs appealed to the Ninth Circuit. Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, et al., v. BLM et al., No. 23-3627 (9th Cir.).

Oct. 30, 2023 ConocoPhillips requested a permit for a seismic survey to examine oil and gas reservoirs within the Willow Project development area (the “Ptarmigan Seismic Survey Program area”). BLM published the Environmental Assessment (EA) of the proposed seismic survey on Nov. 9, 2023. 

March 13, 2023 BLM issued a final record of decision (ROD) for the Willow Project, approving development of three of the five proposed drill sites. This decision is a variation of Alternative E identified in the final supplemental EIS, in that BLM will not allow the consideration of a fourth site at a later date. The approved project also includes associated infrastructure, including a processing facility, a natural gas-fired power plant, operations center, airstrip, and gravel roads. In its press release, Interior noted that ConocoPhillips will relinquish rights to 68,000 acres of existing leases in the NPR-A, including 60,000 acres in the Teshekpuk Lake Area. Interior also plans to issue a proposed rule to “achieve maximum protections” for Special Areas in the NPR-A, including the Teshekpuk Lake Area.

March 12, 2023 President Biden withdrew approximately 2.8 million acres of the Beaufort Sea from oil and gas leasing under his authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). The withdrawn area is adjacent to the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area. See a map of the 2023 withdrawal area.

Nov. 28, 2022 Environmental organizations challenged BLM’s 2020 final EIS for the NPR-A Integrated Activity Plan and subsequent decisions relying on the EIS. The complaint alleges that the EIS violates NEPA by failing to adequately analyze alternatives to planned future lease sales and the effects of those sales on climate change. On Sep. 14, 2023, the District Court for the District of Alaska denied motions to dismiss from BLM and Intervenor-Defendant State of Alaska. Nat’l Audubon Soc’y et al. v. Haaland, No. 3:20-cv-00206 (D. Alaska). Litigation is ongoing.

April 25, 2022 BLM issued a Record of Decision (ROD) reinstating the 2013 NPR-A integrated management plan. The plan allows leasing in up to 52% of the NPR-A for oil and gas exploration, and reinstates protections for areas of particular environmental significance, including the Teshekpuk Lake Area. This decision reverses the Trump-era plan to allow leasing in up to 82% of the reserve. 

March 8, 2022 ConocoPhillips discovered a gas leak at its Alpine oil and gas development on the North Slope. The leak resulted from drilling a waste disposal well; the company had not put in a cement barrier around the well casing because it did not expect to find oil or gas. The leak has led to the temporary evacuation of hundreds of personnel. On Apr. 6, 2022, ConocoPhillips announced that the gas leak released an estimated 7.2 million cubic feet of natural gas before it was contained by redirecting the fugitive gas into the existing pipeline.

Feb 9, 2022 BLM defended its decision to approve new oil and gas exploration in the Peregrine oil prospect in the NPR-A. The area has the potential to produce 1.6 billion barrels of oil. Under President Trump, BLM approved plans from Australian company 88 Energy to drill an appraisal well, Merlin 2, in December, 2020. On Aug. 25, 2022, a coalition of environmental groups filed suit in the District Court for the District of Alaska arguing that BLM violated NEPA by failing to adequately assess the project’s climate impacts. Sierra Club, et al., v. BLM, et al., No. 3:22-cv-00189 (D. Alaska). Litigation is ongoing.

Aug. 5, 2021 The Fish and Wildlife Service finalized a rule authorizing incidental, non-lethal takes by harassment of small numbers of polar bears and Pacific walruses in the Beaufort Sea and North Coast, including land designated for the Willow Project. The rule is in effect Aug. 5, 2021 through Aug. 5, 2026.

Feb. 6, 2021 The District Court for the District of Alaska issued an order blocking ConocoPhillips from breaking ground on the Willow Project, including road construction. Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, et al., v. BLM, No. 3:20-cv-00290 (D. Alaska); Center for Biological Diversity v. BLM, No. 3:20-cv-00308 (D. Alaska). On Feb. 13, 2021, the Ninth Circuit blocked ConocoPhillips from breaking ground on the Willow Project for the duration of the lawsuit, granting plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction. Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, et al., v. BLM, No. 21-35085 (9th Cir.). On Aug. 18, 2021 the District Court for the District of Alaska vacated permits for ConocoPhillips’s Willow Project, holding that the federal government’s NEPA review failed to fully account for the project’s climate impacts, failed to provide adequate protection for the Teshekpuk Lake special area, and didn’t specify how polar bears would be protected. Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic v. BLM, No. 3:20-cv-00290 (D. Alaska); Center for Biological Diversity v. BLM, No. 3:20-cv-00308 (D. Alaska).

Jan. 20, 2021 The Acting Interior Secretary issued Secretarial Order 3395, temporarily suspending all onshore oil and gas leasing, with limited exceptions, for 60 days. President Biden also required DOI to review the ROD for the Willow Project.

Jan. 4, 2021 BLM adopted a new final Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement in a record of decision (ROD) for oil and gas development in the NPR-A. The 2020 Final Integrated Activity Plan replaced the 2013 Integrated Activity Plan and allowed leasing on 18.7 million more acres of land, opening 82% of the NPR-A to leasing. The selected alternative opened more land to leasing, including the entire Teshekpuk Lake Special Area, and protected fewer acres from permanent infrastructure development than any of the other alternatives BLM included in its draft plan. 

Nov. 22, 2020 BLM published a Record of Decision approving ConocoPhillip’s Willow Project in the NPR-A, slated to produce 590 million barrels of oil over 30 years. The project alternative selected in the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Willow Master Development Plan relied on the use of thermosiphons (“chillers”) to keep permafrost frozen near the project’s drill pads. 

Dec. 12, 2018 BLM offered 2.85 million acres for oil and gas development in its 2018 NPR-A lease sale. BLM received bids on 16 of the 254 tracts offered, totalling 174,044 of the 2.85 million acres up for lease.

Oct. 25, 2017 BLM made 900 tracts of land in the NPR-A available for oil and gas leasing in its 2017 lease sale. These tracts constituted the entire 10.3 million acres available for leasing, and was the largest lease sale in the NPR-A’s history. Of the 900 tracts offered, 7 tracts received bids. The District Court for the District of Alaska dismissed environmental groups’ challenges to the 2017 lease sale on Dec. 6, 2018, finding that the leases were properly issued. Northern Alaska Environmental Center, et al., v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, et al., No. 3:18-cv-00030 (D. Alaska). The Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision on July 9, 2020 and denied a petition for rehearing en banc on Dec. 22, 2020. Northern Alaska Environmental Center et al., v. U.S. Dep’t of the Interior, No. 19-35008 (9th Cir.).

May 31, 2017 Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed Secretarial Order 3352 “to jump-start Alaskan energy production….” The order directed the agency to review and revise the 2013 Integrated Activity Plan and to evaluate methods to maximize the land available during the next lease sale. It also called for a plan to reassess the oil and gas resources available in Alaska’s North Slope, including the National Petroleum Reserve and Section 1002 in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. For more information on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, see EELP’s Regulatory Tracker Page on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge – Oil and Gas Development.

Feb. 21, 2013 DOI issued a Record of Decision, officially adopting the Integrated Activity Plan and Environmental Impact Statement for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. Under BLM’s plan, approximately 11 million acres are protected from development, whereas nearly 12 million acres are available for oil and gas leasing. The plan expands or creates multiple “special areas,” including the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area. The plan allows oil and gas infrastructure, such as pipelines, on 14 million acres and may traverse portions of the special areas. Permanent structures are prohibited in certain areas, including the 7.3 million acres in the southwest that are essential for calving and summer migration of caribou. The plan also established best management practices and monitoring requirements for oil and gas activities.