Drill, Baby, Drill: Trump Admin to Start Rescinding Biden-Era Restrictions on Potent Oil Fields
The Trump administration is moving to revoke a Biden-era rule that protected over 10 million acres of Alaskan land from oil and natural gas drilling, specifically within the National petroleum Reserve (NPR-A). The Department of the Interior argues that the Biden rule goes beyond statutory authority, contradicts the purpose of the Naval Petroleum reserves Production Act of 1976, and imposes unneeded barriers to responsible energy progress. They assert that Congress intended this reserve to support U.S. energy security through responsible development practices.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum emphasizes that the original regulations, which existed before May 7, 2024, allowed for responsible development while also protecting wildlife and other regional values. The push to lift restrictions is part of a broader strategy to bolster American energy independence and economic growth, according to Trump officials and Alaskan government representatives. The region plays a significant role in U.S.oil production, contributing over 3% of the country’s output. Political representatives from Alaska have criticized the previous administration’s restrictions,viewing them as detrimental to both local interests and national energy strategy.
The Trump administration has proposed overturning a Biden-era rule that put millions of acres of Alaskan land beyond the reach of oil and natural gas drilling.
The rule blocked drilling on 10.6 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and limited development on an additional 2 million acres, according to Reuters.
“Rescinding the 2024 rule will remove regulations that are inconsistent with the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976, restore the original intent of the Act for the management of the area, and eliminate roadblocks to responsible energy production,” a news release from the Department of the Interior said.
Officials of the Bureau of Land Management and Department of the Interior said the Biden rule “exceeds the agency’s statutory authority under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976, conflicts with the Act’s purpose, and imposes unnecessary barriers to responsible energy development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.”
The release noted that the 23-million-acre reserve was intended by Congress to promote national energy security.
“Congress was clear: the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska was set aside to support America’s energy security through responsible development,” Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said.
“The 2024 rule ignored that mandate, prioritizing obstruction over production and undermining our ability to harness domestic resources at a time when American energy independence has never been more critical. We’re restoring the balance and putting our energy future back on track,” he said.
The rule would restore the regulatory picture that existed before May 7, 2024.
The release said rules in place before that date “ have long guided responsible development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska while incorporating protections for wildlife, subsistence and surface values.”
Alaska’s North Slope provides more than 3 percent of America’s oil production, the U.S. Energy Information Administration says, according to Reuters.
Today another sanction on Alaska was lifted by the Trump Administration. This is great news for state’s economy and the nation’s energy supply.
Top Trump officials visit prolific Alaska oil field amid push to expand drilling https://t.co/cjmbocvtdQ— Governor Mike Dunleavy (@GovDunleavy) June 3, 2025
In January, President Donald Trump issued an executive order to promote the development of Alaska’s resources.
“By developing these resources to the fullest extent possible, we can help deliver price relief for Americans, create high-quality jobs for our citizens, ameliorate our trade imbalances, augment the Nation’s exercise of global energy dominance, and guard against foreign powers weaponizing energy supplies in theaters of geopolitical conflict,” the order said.
“Unleashing this opportunity, however, requires an immediate end to the assault on Alaska’s sovereignty and its ability to responsibly develop these resources for the benefit of the Nation. It is, therefore, imperative to immediately reverse the punitive restrictions implemented by the previous administration that specifically target resource development on both State and Federal lands in Alaska,” the order said.
Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska said the Biden administration’s effort to block development was the “most egregious effort of the Biden administration.”
He said it was “one of the top priorities is to get the NPR-A back to where it was supposed to be by the intention of Congress, to develop oil and to remove all the regulations that the Biden guys put on NPR-A, and that is a huge priority,” according to the Alaska Beacon. NPRA is the acronym for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
Rex Rock Sr., the head of the Arctic Slope Regional Corp., an Alaska Native regional corporation, said the Biden rule was not supported by people who live in the affected region, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
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