Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke today issued a secretarial order affirming the Trump administration's commitment to energy development in the state of Alaska. The order, which Zinke signed today during the Alaska Oil and Gas Association's annual conference, emphasizes the importance of Alaska's energy resources to U.S. geopolitical security.
"The president .... has declared that the war on North American energy is now over," Zinke told the AOGA conference.
The order mandates some specific actions aimed at bolstering Alaska oil and gas development.
The actions, which must go into effect within 21 days, consist of preparing a schedule for revising the Integrated Activity Plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska; evaluating how to maximize the number of tracts offered in the next NPR-A lease sale, under the terms of the current NPR-A plan; and preparing a plan for an update to the assessment of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil and gas resources on the North Slope, focusing on the NPR-A and on the 1002 Area of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
"Today's announcement marks a bright, new chapter in Alaska's history," said Gov. Bill Walker in response to Zinke's action. "Thanks to Secretary Zinke's leadership, we are ushering in an era of unprecedented federal-state partnership to develop Alaska's resources."
- ALAN BAILEY
See story in the June 4 issue, available online Friday, June 2, at www.PetroleumNews.com
