Despite Push From Trump Administration, Arctic Gas Lease Interest Continues To Be Slow (Update)
Just as has gone on in the past, there hasn’t been significant interest in bidding on oil and gas lease sales in Alaska’s Arctic region, as today’s dud of a sale showed. First up, here’s the Anchorage Daily News on the lukewarm turnout:
The lease sale raised just $3.7 million with only two entities competing for five tracts, out of 58 tracts offered.
A state development bank for Alaska won three tracts, adding to its seven tracts in the region. A small Cook Inlet operator, Hex Energy, won two tracts. No major oil companies bid.
The leases cover 70,000 acres for 10 years, giving the bid winners a chance to explore the tracts with seismic studies and drilling.
Despite President Donald Trump’s push to create more drilling operations in and out of Alaska, the tepid response from the petroleum industry brought some moral victories to conservation and environmental groups that have been opposed to these potential devastating developments to the Last Frontier’s natural resources and fish and wildlife. Here’s some reaction, starting with ARC Initiatives, which rounded up comments from various groups:
Arctic Refuge lease sale a total flop as state agency bails out empty market
Today’s Arctic Refuge lease sale was another clear sign of the commercial challenges facing Refuge development. The sale generated just nine bids on five tracts (~10% of the acres offered), with participation limited to AIDEA and HEX Energy LLC. No major North Slope operators or multinational oil companies submitted bids. Rather than attracting broad private-sector investment, the sale relied exclusively on a state development authority and a company that has repeatedly benefited from significant public financing provided by that same authority.
A Desperate State Bailout: AIDEA threw $1.5 million in taxpayer-backed funds to prop up an oil play that major corporations won’t touch. With zero oversight, this state-owned authority has become a political vehicle, forcing Alaskan taxpayers to absorb massive financial risks for projects private industry has soundly rejected.
Zero Revenue to Date: Look at the track record. AIDEA currently holds the only active leases in the Arctic Refuge—and none of them have produced a single cent of revenue.
Manufacturing Competition: The only other bidder today was HEX—a company AIDEA literally helped keep afloat. In 2020, AIDEA approved up to $7.5 million in financing to rescue HEX’s assets from bankruptcy. In 2024, The Northern Journal reported that HEX sought a $50 million AIDEA-backed credit line, while noting that portions of the deal were shielded from public scrutiny because critical financial terms were disclosed only in confidential briefings to AIDEA board members. Today’s “competition” is an illusion funded by the same state checkbook.
The Billion-Dollar Delusion: Proponents originally promised billions in windfalls. Instead, today’s dismal results confirm a study by Taxpayers for Common Sense: future Arctic Refuge sales are tracking to generate a paltry $3 million to $30 million in total revenue. No matter who occupies the White House, the underlying economics of Refuge drilling have not changed: lease sales continue to struggle to attract major industry interest and have repeatedly fallen short of expectations.
At a time when Alaska’s schools and public services are facing brutal cuts, the state is burning public cash on a ghost town oil market.
We’ve also rounded up some quotes reacting to the sale:
Gwich’in Steering Committee
“The results of today’s lease sale speaks for itself. Yet again, no major oil and gas companies showed up to bid, because they know that drilling in the Arctic Refuge is a losing proposition,” said Kristen Moreland, executive director of the Gwich’in Steering Committee. “We will continue to fight the Trump administration’s leasing program, and work with our friends and allies to protect this sacred and irreplaceable landscape from development of any kind.”
American Hunters and Anglers
“America’s public lands belong to all of us. The pristine landscapes and wildlife of the famed Arctic Refuge are a public trust—not an industrial zone for corporate exploitation. AIDEA and a small company, Hex Energy LLC, rushed forward to put our crown jewel on the butcher’s block, hacking away at an irreplaceable hunting, fishing, and birding paradise that is the envy of the world and lives in the dreams of hunters and anglers across the nation. Sportsmen and women are proud defenders of our wild spaces, and our leaders have an obligation to protect the Refuge for generations to come. Make no mistake: AIDEA and Hex Energy just put profit and greed before our precious public lands and American sporting heritage,” said Land Tawney, Co-Chair of American Hunters & Anglers.
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers
“Hunters, anglers, recreators, and outdoorsmen of all types look to our public lands for opportunities available nowhere else in the world. The Arctic Refuge is one of those rare gems—offering some of the most unique and exciting landscapes and wildlife on Earth,” said Ryan “Cal” Callaghan, President and CEO of Backcountry Hunters & Anglers. “Today’s lease sale will impede access to lands that belong to the American people—prioritizing oil and gas companies above all else. Despite a lack of broader industry interest, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) and Hex Energy LLC are gambling with our nation’s invaluable public resources. The Refuge supports iconic wildlife, world-class hunting and fishing opportunities, and migratory birds that travel from every corner of the planet. These public lands are meant to be enjoyed by all Americans, not reserved for the interests of a select few.”
EarthKeepers 360
“The Arctic Refuge is one of God’s great sanctuaries—a place where caribou still migrate, polar bears den, and countless species find refuge in a rapidly changing world. To threaten this sacred landscape for short-term profit is to forget that creation is not ours to exploit, but ours to responsibly steward and protect. Protecting the Arctic Refuge honors the wonder of God’s creation, respects the rights of the Gwich’in, and safeguards the world’s future. This is a moral responsibility that transcends geography and politics. As faith leaders, we must implore our leaders and AIDEA to rise above these short-term interests and instead choose solutions that serve our communities,” said Rev. Andrew Black, Founder of EarthKeepers 360 & NWF Director of Tribal Lands and Waters
Grandmothers Growing Goodness
“The Arctic Refuge is one of the last remaining intact ecosystems. Here in the Western Arctic, we are already experiencing the health, climate, and environmental impacts of oil and gas development – making it of the utmost importance to reverse course and prevent catastrophe in the Refuge,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, Executive Director of Grandmothers Growing Goodness. “What happens anywhere in the Arctic affects all of us – AIDEA knows this and still chose to spend millions here when our communities are suffering. We must advocate for goodness over destruction and ensure this region is protected for generations to come.”
Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic
“Our leaders continue to offer up more of the Arctic Refuge even as we are living with the consequences in the Western Arctic,” said Nauri Simmonds, Executive Director of Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic. “Time and again, the benefits promised to our communities fall through, while the consequences stay with our people. Now even the NPRA mitigation funds meant to offset the harms of oil and gas activities in our region are being taken away, while billion?dollar companies continue receiving incentives and support. This is the same pattern we’ve seen for generations, a system that serves the few while our communities carry the long-term burdens of economic, social and land harms. We have faith that as people are seeing the global injustices happening, they will also recognize how this is playing out with AIDEA and the Arctic of Alaska and take action against this insidious entity.”
Taxpayers for Common Sense
“From two previous failed lease sales that delivered less than 1% of promised revenue, taxpayers already know that drilling in the Arctic Refuge is a bad deal,” said Autumn Hanna, Vice President of Taxpayers for Common Sense. “Today’s lease sale is yet another reminder that oil and gas development in the Refuge is high-risk, low reward with zero interest from real industry players. Americans will not see relief at the pump and, instead, face greater risks from the drilling in a sensitive region.”
Vet Voice Foundation
“Today’s lease sale in the Arctic Refuge marks a sad day in American history. But, it proves not only the complete lack of interest from industry in developing these irreplaceable lands but also that our leaders lied that this sale would deliver a return to the public,” said Janessa Goldbeck, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and CEO of Vet Voice Foundation. “True security is built on resilient solutions that keep our nation healthy and safe, not by rushing lease sales in remote wildlife refuges. America’s public lands are a safe haven for U.S. service members, veterans, and our families – AIDEA and Hex Energy LLC must do what’s right and walk away.”
The Center for Biological Diversity also chimed in:
“Even the greediest oil companies stayed away from the incredible Arctic Refuge in this flop of a lease sale,” said Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This stunning yet predictable failure shows that drilling in this pristine landscape is a dead end for the fossil fuel industry. The Trump administration needs to finally accept reality, listen to the American people and leave the Arctic Refuge alone.”
Update: Here’s an Earthjustice statement:
Lease Sale Seeks to Transform Arctic National Wildlife Refuge into a Fossil Fuel Industrial Zone
All major oil companies refused to bid; one small oil company and a state of Alaska-sponsored corporation snapped up five leases in a rush to exploit the Refuge’s Coastal Plain
CONTACTS
Andrew Scibetta, Natural Resources Defense Council, (202) 289-2421
Elizabeth Heyd, Natural Resources Defense Council,?eheyd@nrdc.org
Lindsay Tice, Friends of the Earth U.S., (202) 783-7400, ext. 8403,?ltice@foe.org
Elizabeth Manning, Earthjustice, (907) 277-2555,?emanning@earthjustice.org
ANCHORAGE, AK —
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) today announced results from what was supposed to be sweeping oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — the third oil and gas lease sale held in the Refuge.
Previous lease sales in the Wildlife Refuge have generated only a few bids or no bids — likely because drilling in the Refuge is considered financially risky and deeply unpopular among most Americans — and today’s sale was no different.
Oil companies had the chance to bid on 58 tracts across nearly 700,000 acres within the Coastal Plain. In today’s sale, just two bidders competed on five tracts covering about 70,000 acres.
The only companies willing to bid in the Coastal Plain were the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) that had the high bid on three parcels and Hex LLC, an Alaska company, that had the high bid on two parcels. Neither has any experience drilling in the Arctic.
Even though the interest in today’s sale was tepid, the new leasing still poses significant threats to habitat, iconic wildlife, and Indigenous ways of life in one of the nation’s most wild and beautiful landscapes. All of today’s leases are in important polar bear habitat, for example.
BLM held today’s lawsuit under a legal cloud: a lawsuit previously filed by Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth U.S., challenges?the Interior Department’s October 2025 decision to maximize oil and gas leasing in the Refuge’s Coastal Plain.
The lawsuit, originally filed in 2020 and amended this year, also challenges existing leases within the Coastal Plain obtained illegally by the state-sponsored corporation Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) during the first Trump administration.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and other laws. NRDC and Earthjustice are co-counsel for plaintiffs NRDC, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Friends of the Earth.
Statements in response to today’s lease sale from plaintiffs and Earthjustice:
“Drilling in the Arctic Refuge is reckless, and the market keeps confirming it,” said Bobby McEnaney, Director, Land Conservation, NRDC. “This is the third lease sale in a row to be a bust, with major oil companies sitting it out. The government spent public money to hold an auction no major company showed up for, and that tells you everything you need to know about the economics here. It is a remote, fragile landscape that is expensive to drill and risky to bet on, and no amount of pressure from Washington changes that. We should not be putting this delicate habitat on the line for an oil patch that does not exist.”
“We must not sacrifice Coastal Plain to Big Oil in the face of a climate catastrophe,” said Raena Garcia, Senior Energy Campaigner for Friends of the Earth. “This lease sale could bring tremendous harm to people and ecosystems, all for the sake of industry profit. It is absolutely reckless to continue down a path that overlooks the irreversible damage of the Arctic by the Trump Administration and Big Oil.”
“Today’s lease sale brings the threat of oil and gas extraction in the Refuge closer, but we will never back down from protecting these irreplaceable public lands,” said?Earthjustice Attorney Hannah Foster. “Most Americans want the Coastal Plain protected, not sold to the highest bidder. A reckless few should not be allowed to destroy this sacred place to line the pockets of oil companies.”
Background
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge was first protected under President Dwight Eisenhower in 1960 as the Arctic National Wildlife Range and later designated the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by President Jimmy Carter. The Refuge spans 19.3 million acres. On the northern coast lies the Coastal Plain, the biological heart of the Refuge that contains 1.56 million acres of tundra, braided rivers, and wetlands. The Coastal Plain provides essential habitat for polar bears, caribou, and millions of migratory birds. It is exceedingly sensitive to disturbance and slow to recover.
Earthjustice and NRDC, on behalf of the conservation groups, filed suit in 2020 challenging the prior attempt to lease the Coastal Plain. A lease auction was held on Jan. 6, 2021, and the Biden administration subsequently imposed a moratorium and review. The Biden administration then offered a smaller sale in 2025 that drew no bids.
In?October 2025, the Department of the Interior rescinded the Biden record of decision, readopted a program that opens the entire Coastal Plain to leasing, and lifted the suspension on AIDEA’s leases from the 2021 sale — prompting the resumption of the lawsuit.
Two other separate but parallel lawsuits are similarly challenging oil and gas leasing in the Refuge. Those plaintiff groups are represented by other counsel and include the Gwich’in Steering Committee, Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, and others.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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In?October 2025, the Department of the Interior rescinded the Biden record of decision, readopted a program that opens the entire Coastal Plain to leasing, and lifted the suspension on AIDEA’s leases from the 2021 sale — prompting the resumption of the lawsuit.
Two other separate but parallel lawsuits are similarly challenging oil and gas leasing in the Refuge. Those plaintiff groups are represented by other counsel and include the Gwich’in Steering Committee, Native Village of Venetie Tribal Government, and others.
(Peter Hoey for Earthjustice)
Polar bears on the coast of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. (Florian Schulz / protectthearctic.org)
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