Trumpâs High-Profile Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Alaska Has No Takers. (New York Times)
The Trump administration did not receive a single bid for its offer of new offshore oil and gas exploration opportunities in Alaskaâs Cook Inlet, dealing a blow to President Trumpâs âdrill, baby drill,â agenda.
The attempted sale of rights to drill in more than 1 million acres was the first of six offshore oil and gas auctions in Alaska that Republicans mandated last year when they passed Mr. Trumpâs sweeping tax law.
It was seen as a key test of the industryâs appetite for investment in a state that Mr. Trump has called a ânatural resource warehouse,â and essential for his âenergy dominanceâ agenda of maximizing domestic production of oil, natural gas and coal. On Wednesday, though, the Interior Departmentâs Bureau of Ocean Energy Management acknowledged that no drilling companies submitted bids.
âThis is a huge embarrassment for Trumpâs Alaska fossil fuel fantasy,â said Cooper Freeman, the Alaska director of the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group.
Matthew Giacona, the acting director of the bureau, did not address why the auction was a flop. He said in a statement that a predictable leasing schedule mandated by Congress is âthe foundation for maintaining domestic energy production.â
âEven when a sale receives no bids, maintaining a transparent, congressionally mandated schedule keeps Cook Inlet opportunities available for future investment, strengthens national readiness and supports Alaskaâs role in meeting Americaâs energy needs,â Mr. Giacona said.
The Cook Inlet stretches about 180 miles from the Gulf of Alaska inland, separating the Kenai Peninsula from Anchorage, Alaskaâs largest city. The waters have long been considered a critical basin, but experts have said its resources have been dwindling for decades. Retrieving that gas has also gotten more difficult and expensive, leaving fewer companies interested in the search.
That hasnât stopped supporters of oil and gas development from insisting on giving drillers the opportunity to explore there.
In 2022, the Biden administration tried to cancel a lease in the Cook Inlet, citing a lack of interest from the industry. Republicans in Congress reacted with anger.
