Trump signs SJR 80, fulfilling promises made to Alaska leaders

Kay Cashman

Petroleum News

On Dec. 5, President Donald Trump signed into law Senate Joint Resolution 80, which nullifies a Bureau of Land Management rule relating to the "National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision."

SJR 80 revokes restrictions on oil and gas drilling in the National Petroleum Reserve in northern Alaska, using the Congressional Review Act to abolish limitations enacted during the Biden administration.

(See map in the online issue PDF)

The National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska encompasses some 23.5 million acres west of the Prudhoe Bay oil field on Alaska's North Slope. The first major development in the petroleum reserve is scheduled to go online in early 2029 and is the ConocoPhillips's Willow project.

Willow is expected to produce some 180,000 barrels per day of oil at peak rate.

The signing of SJR 80 is one of the Trump administration's actions to reduce regulatory obstacles and meet promises Trump made to Alaska's Congressional delegation. Alaska's governor, Native groups in the state, and to companies doing business in Alaska..

During a Nov. 6 earnings call, ConocoPhillips chief executive Ryan Lance said the company is working with the Trump administration "to identify some ways to streamline permitting" in Alaska.

"I think you saw an early read of that with the new rules that are coming out for development in the NPR-A. That's just sort of the start," he said. "There's more things coming that will give us what we think is going to be a lot more clarity to faster permitting approvals coming in Alaska going forward."

Lance also said Nov. 6 that in 2026 the company will have "a bigger exploration program than we've had in Alaska in a number of years," most of that being in the NPR-A.

-KAY CASHMAN