AIDEA, Hex Energy Win 72,000 Arctic Refuge Acres as Major Oil Firms Skip Trump Auction
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 6
AIDEA, Hex Energy Win 72,000 Arctic Refuge Acres as Major Oil Firms Skip Trump Auction
3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jun 6
Summary
AIDEA and Hex Energy LLC won five Arctic National Wildlife Refuge tracts totaling 72,000 acres for $3.7 million in Alaska's latest federal oil and gas lease sale.
Major oil companies sat out the auction, leaving the Alaska state development agency and a little-known private bidder to take all awarded leases despite nearly 690,000 acres being offered.
The sale still advances Trump's push to open the refuge to drilling, with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and other officials recently promoting Alaska's resource potential on the North Slope.
The auction stems from Trump administration policy and a congressional mandate to hold ANWR lease sales, even as opponents cite risks to caribou, polar bears and Gwich'in sacred lands.