Top Trump officials visit prolific Alaska oil field amid push to expand drilling
Share this @internewscast.com

DEADHORSE, Alaska (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to increase the flow of oil through Alaska’s extensive pipeline system and also construct a substantial natural gas project as its “big, beautiful twin,” according to a senior administration official on Monday at an active oil field near the Arctic Ocean.

During his visit to Prudhoe Bay along with two other Trump Cabinet members — Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin — U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright made these statements, emphasizing Trump’s initiative to promote oil and gas extraction, mining, and logging in this state, despite pushback from environmental groups.

Simultaneously, as part of the trip, Burgum’s department revealed intentions to revoke restrictions set during Biden’s administration on imminent leasing and industrial activity in segments of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska identified for their ecological, cultural, or other significant values.

The petroleum reserve is west of Prudhoe Bay and Deadhorse, the industrial encampment near the starting point of the trans-Alaska pipeline system. The pipeline, which runs for 800 miles (nearly 1,300 kilometers), has been Alaska’s economic lifeline for nearly 50 years.

Government and industry representatives from several Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines, were joining a portion of the U.S. officials’ trip, as Trump has focused renewed attention on the gas project proposal, which in its current iteration would provide gas to Alaska residents and ship liquefied natural gas overseas. Matsuo Takehiko, vice minister for International Affairs at Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, was among those at Prudhoe Bay on Monday.

For years, state leaders have dreamed of such a project but cost concerns, shifts in direction, competition and questions about economic feasibility have hindered progress. U.S. tariff talks with Asian countries have been seen as possible leverage for the Trump administration to secure investments in the proposed gas project.

Oil and natural gas are in significant demand worldwide, Wright told a group of officials and pipeline employees in safety hats and vests who gathered near the oil pipeline on a blustery day with 13-degree Fahrenheit (-10 Celsius) windchills. The pipeline stretched out over the snow-covered landscape.

“You have the big two right here,” he said. “Let’s double oil production, build the big, beautiful twin, and we will help energize the world and we will strengthen our country and strengthen our families.”

Oil flow through the trans-Alaska pipeline peaked at about 2 million barrels in the late 1980s. In 2011 — a year in which an average of about 583,000 barrels of oil a day flowed through the pipeline, then-Gov. Sean Parnell, a Republican, set a goal of boosting that number to 1 million barrels a day within a decade. It’s never come close in the years since: last year, throughput averaged about 465,000 barrels a day.

Those joining the Trump officials Monday included U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan and Gov. Mike Dunleavy, both Republicans, who also took part in meetings Sunday in Anchorage and Utqiagvik.

In Utqiagvik, an Arctic community that experiences 24 hours of daylight this time of year, many Alaska Native leaders support Trump’s push for more drilling in the petroleum reserve and to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil development. They lauded the visit after lamenting that they felt ignored by former President Joe Biden’s administration.

Alaska political leaders have long complained about perceived federal overreach by the U.S. government, which oversees about 60% of lands in Alaska. Sullivan, Dunleavy and Alaska’s senior U.S. senator, Lisa Murkowski, often complained that Biden’s team was too restrictive in its approach to many resource development issues.

Murkowski, an at-times vocal critic of Trump, joined for Sunday’s meeting in Anchorage, where she said Alaska leaders “want to partner with you. We want to be that equal at the table instead of an afterthought.”

Environmentalists criticized Interior’s planned rollback of restrictions in portions of the petroleum reserve. While Sullivan called the repeal a top priority, saying Congress intended to have development in the petroleum reserve, environmentalists maintain that the law balances allowances for oil drilling with a need to provide protections for sensitive areas and decried Interior’s plans as wrong-headed.

Erik Grafe, an attorney with Earthjustice, called the Trump administration’s intense focus on oil and gas troubling, particularly in a state experiencing the real-time impacts of climate change. He called the continued pursuit of fossil fuel development “very frustrating and heartbreaking to see.”

The Interior Department said it will accept public comment on the planned repeal.

The three Trump officials also plan to speak at Dunleavy’s annual energy conference Tuesday in Anchorage.

____

Bohrer reported from Juneau, Alaska.

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like
Donald Trump arriving at the NATO Summit in The Hague, Netherlands.

The White House Shares ‘Daddy’s Home’ Video to End Trump’s NATO Visit, While Alliance Leader Denies Using Nickname for Trump

THE White House has celebrated Donald Trump’s return from the Nato summit…
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 22: Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer listens as Angela Rayner, Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities delivers her speech on September 22, 2024 in Liverpool, England. This is Labour's first conference since they were returned as the governing party of The UK and Northern Ireland by voters in the July election, ending 14 years of Conservative rule. They won with a landslide majority of 172 seats, and 412 in total. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Labour in Disarray: Farage Leads in Polls and Welfare Dissenters Increase Pressure on Struggling Starmer

WHEN it rains, it pours… and Sir Keir Starmer cannot catch a…
Flames erupting from an airplane in flight.

Dramatic Event as Fire Breaks Out on American Airlines Flight with 153 Passengers, Pilot Shares Alarming Update

AN American Airlines flight had to return to the airport after smoke…
Tanner in a brown beanie and glasses.

30-Year-Old Father Tanner Martin Shares Heartbreaking Video Announcing His Death Following Five-Year Battle with Colon Cancer

An influencer has revealed his passing in a pre-recorded video that was…
Anna Wintour to step down from Vogue leadership role

Anna Wintour to resign from her leadership position at Vogue

The announcement of her nearly 40-year tenure ending shocked many in the…
Suspect in Boulder terror attack targeting pro-Israel demonstrators charged with federal hate crimes

Boulder Terror Attack Suspect Faces Federal Hate Crime Charges for Targeting Pro-Israel Demonstrators

The individual accused in a “targeted terror attack” that took place in…
College athlete's Pokémon Go murder gets fresh look after FBI releases suspect sketch

New Insight into College Athlete’s Pokémon Go Case as FBI Unveils Suspect Sketch

Close to ten years following the murder of a college baseball player,…
Bill Moyers, the former White House press secretary turned TV journalist, dead at 91 in NYC

Bill Moyers, former White House Press Secretary and TV Journalist, passes away at 91 in NYC

NEW YORK — Bill Moyers, once a White House press secretary who…
Ex-camp counselor arrested after allegedly threatening violent revenge on Christian camp over firing

Former camp counselor detained for purportedly threatening retaliation against Christian camp following termination

A former camp counselor was taken into custody last weekend for allegedly…
How ChatGPT and other AI tools are changing the teaching profession

How AI Tools Like ChatGPT are Transforming the Teaching Profession

In her 6th grade honors math class, teacher Ana Sepúlveda sought to…
Mothers celebrate NBA draft night with tears and triumph

Mothers Experience Joy and Emotion on NBA Draft Night

The moms of the NBA draftees took centerstage, receiving hugs and wiping…
International Space Station welcomes its first astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary

First Astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary Arrive at International Space Station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary landed…