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Two Companies Secure Five Arctic Coastal Plain Leases in BLM Auction

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The Bureau of Land Management awarded five oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Coastal Plain, generating $3.74 million in total receipts, the bureau said Friday.

Marking the first successful lease sale under the Working Families Tax Cuts Act, the auction also represented the second successful Coastal Plain sale conducted during President Donald Trump's administration, according to the BLM.

Congress highlighted the area's resource potential through the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 and later authorized leasing activity in the region through the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the bureau added.

BLM Director Steve Pearce said the lease sale advances efforts to expand domestic energy production and reflects industry confidence in the resource potential of Alaska's Coastal Plain.

For the auction, the agency offered 58 tracts spanning about 688,829 acres and received bids from two companies on five tracts covering 72,049 acres.

"Alaska is a bedrock of America's energy security, and this sale will bolster the state's economy and ultimately lead to additional energy production," BLM Alaska State Director Kevin Pendergast said.

Under the revenue-sharing framework, Alaska will receive nearly $2 million, representing 50% of total bid receipts from the sale, according to the bureau.

Since January 2025, BLM has reversed 2023 lease cancellations, issued a new 2025 Record of Decision, and resumed expanded leasing activity in the Coastal Plain under Executive Order 14153, Secretary's Order 3422, and the Working Families Tax Cuts Act.

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