ANWR Lease Auction Draws 9 Bids, Raising $3.7 Million for 10% of Offered Land
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jun 5
ANWR Lease Auction Draws 9 Bids, Raising $3.7 Million for 10% of Offered Land
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jun 5
Summary
$3.7 million was raised in Friday's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge lease sale after just nine bids were submitted, covering only about 10% of the 58 tracts offered.
Most parcels drew no interest, no major international oil companies bid, and nearly half the proceeds came from Alaska's state-owned economic development corporation.
The weak turnout undercut President Trump's pledge that opening ANWR would unleash an economic boom and help lower gasoline and grocery prices through what he called "liquid gold."
The result also disappointed expectations for a stronger sale, since analysts had seen higher oil prices tied to the Iran war and active federal support for drilling as favorable conditions.