Drill, Baby, Drill! Alaska Wins Lawsuit With Huge Implications for American Energy

On Tuesday, a federal judge in Anchorage issued a ruling that could open up a vast territory for renewed drilling permits on Alaska's North Slope. If you're concerned about gas prices or cheap, abundant energy in general, this is good news.

In an order published Tuesday, Judge Sharon Gleason wrote that the U.S. Department of the Interior acted illegally when it canceled oil and gas leases held by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority on land within the refuge.
“Having reviewed the parties’ arguments, the court concludes that DOI was required to obtain a court order before canceling AIDEA’s leases,” Gleason said in her 22-page decision.
AIDEA did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Cori Mills, Alaska’s deputy attorney general, called the decision a victory.
“The state looks forward to working with the current federal administration on fully realizing the vast potential of ANWR to grow Alaska’s economy and help America’s energy independence,” she said by email. “It is unfortunate we have lost a significant amount of time litigating, instead of moving forward with field studies and development. We will continue to review the decision in more detail but it’s definitely a victory.”

It's not just a victory for Alaska, although it certainly is that. It's a victory for American energy policy and for anyone whose lifestyle depends on reliable and inexpensive energy (so, everyone), whether they realize it or not.

Turns out the Biden administration, in canceling the leases, was playing fast and loose with the rules.

The Biden administration claimed that the sale — conducted under the auspices of the first Trump administration — was flawed and thus illegal.
It first suspended, then canceled the leases, prompting AIDEA to sue in 2024.
Gleason had upheld the Biden administration’s suspension order, but when it came to the cancellation, she ruled in AIDEA’s favor, citing a provision of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that enabled the ANWR leases.
That act said in part that the Interior Department “shall manage the oil and gas program on the Coastal Plain in a manner similar to the administration of lease sales under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976.”
Gleason wrote: “Among the NPRPA’s implementing regulations is a regulation that provides that ‘(p)roducing leases or leases known to contain valuable deposits of oil or gas may be canceled only by court order.’”

No, we're still not tired of winning yet.

What We Know So Far About Trump's Proposed Big, Beautiful New Alaska Pipeline

There was opposition to the ruling and AIDEA's lawsuit, from a listing of what Alaskans are accustomed to seeing as the "usual suspects" in opposing oil and gas exploration.

Several environmental and tribal groups sided with the federal government during the course of the lawsuit and had requested the ability to offer alternative solutions if Gleason ruled in favor of AIDEA.
She turned them down, writing, “DOI’s error is serious: DOI cancelled AIDEA’s leases without following the congressionally mandated procedure for doing so.”
In light of that finding, she vacated the department’s lease cancellation decision, saying the department — now back in the hands of the Trump administration — may decide what to do next.
In a statement released last week, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said he intends to open the refuge’s entire 1.56 million-acre coastal plain to development, indicating that AIDEA will be given a free hand on its leases.

So, yes, drill, baby, drill. This is good for the American energy picture and, as oil and gas are fungible commodities on the global market, an increase in supply from the North Slope has the potential to affect prices world-wide. Best of all, this is good for Alaskan jobs in the short-to-medium term, and in making more energy more affordable, it will be good for the American economy.

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