Caribou in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo Courtesy of USFWS National Wildlife Refuge System.
Whitehorse, YT – The latest oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain attracted bids on only five of 58 parcels offered.
The June 5 sale covered roughly 689,000 acres. Two companies bid on about 72,000 acres. The result marks a modest increase from a lease sale last year when no bids were received.
U.S. officials say the sale is part of renewed efforts to expand energy development in the refuge under recent policy and legislation requiring additional lease sales over the next decade.
Environmental groups and some Gwich’in leaders continue to oppose drilling in the area, citing concerns over wildlife habitat and cultural impacts.
