Trump administration moving towards opening Alaska refuge to oil and gas drilling

A notice being published Friday in the Federal Register starts a 60-day review to sell oil and gas leases in the remote region.

Opening the refuge to oil and gas drilling is a longtime Republican priority that most Democrats fiercely oppose.

The Alaskan government, however is likely extremely please, after fighting to open the refuge for years for their state which heavily depends on the wellbeing of the oil industry. In fact, the good news just keeps piling up for Alaskan oil after years of oil debts and economic decline.

President Bill Clinton vetoed a GOP plan to allow drilling in the refuge in 1995, and Democrats defeated a similar GOP plan a decade later. Congress authorized drilling in the refuge in a tax-cut law approved in December and signed by President Trump.

 President Bill Clinton vetoed a GOP plan to allow drilling in the refuge in 1995, and Democrats defeated a similar GOP plan a decade later. Congress authorized drilling in the refuge in a tax-cut law approved in December and signed by President Trump.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/trump-moves-allowing-oil-gas-drilling-alaska-refuge-article-1.3943513

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The New Alaskan Oil Rush

ConocoPhillips is coming off of an incredible exploration season, reportedly the best they’ve had in over a decade, and they have Alaskan oil to thank for it. The company stuck big in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) this winter, successfully finding oil at all six of their test wells (three exploration and three appraisal), which means chances are good that the trans-Alaska pipeline system could soon be seeing a lot more (much-needed) action.

The newfound interest in Alaskan oil is not limited to ConocoPhillips, however. Investors and developers from as far-flung places as Papua New Guinea (PNG) have moved in to get a piece of the action. Last month a PNG-based company called Oil Search took over operations with a $400 million stake in the Nanushuk field. The field is part of the massive Pikka unit, reportedly the state’s third largest with an estimated volume of 1.2 billion barrels of oil (some sources have even reported up to 3 billion barrels). Oil Search bought a large stake in the field from Denver-based Armstrong Oil and Gas, while Spanish-based Repsol owns another significant portion.

https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/The-New-Alaskan-Oil-Rush.html

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SideNote: This could bode well for the mining industry as well. Fed Gov. Relaxing the rules...