Biden indefinitely blocks millions of acres of land and water from future oil drilling

The Biden administration announced Sunday night that it is indefinitely blocking 16 million acres of federal land and water in Alaska for future fossil fuel drilling.

The Department of the Interior (DOI) said it has initiated a rulemaking process to “establish maximum protection” for 13 million acres of land in the National Petroleum Reserve (NPR), an area in the North Slope, Alaska, allocated by Congress for resources. development. In addition, President Biden has ordered an additional 2.8 million acres of land in the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean off the northern coast of Alaska to be withdrawn from oil and gas leases.

“With these actions, President Biden continues to execute the most aggressive climate agenda in American history,” the DOI said in a statement. “He made the United States a magnet for clean energy and jobs. It has delivered record-breaking investments in climate resilience and environmental justice.”

“And his economic agenda has put the United States back on track to meet its 2030 and 2050 climate goals while reducing America’s dependence on oil and protecting American families from the impact of Putin’s war on global energy markets,” the statement said.

CLIMATE ACTIVISTS AND DEMS VS. BIDEN OVER PROBABLE OIL DRILLING PROJECT IN ALASKA: ‘EXISTENTIAL THREAT’

Climate activists hold a demonstration to call on President Biden to abandon the Willow Project at the headquarters of the Department of the Interior on November 17.

Climate activists hold a demonstration to call on President Biden to abandon the Willow Project at the headquarters of the Department of the Interior on November 17. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Sunrise AU)

This announcement means that the entire portion of the Arctic Ocean owned by the federal government will be blocked from any fossil fuel mining for the foreseeable future. However, there has been no offshore lease sale in the region since 2007, and the administration has already ruled out future auctions until at least 2028.

In addition, the Interior Department said Biden intends to limit future fossil fuel production in Teshekpuk Lake, the Utukok Uplands, the Colville River, Kasegaluk Lagoon and Peard Bay, “special areas” known for their rich wildlife populations. Biden’s sweeping moves also hinder the development of certain fossil fuel pipeline infrastructure in northern Alaska.

“This is a completely political decision, it is not based on science or climate change or biological resources,” the former senior Bureau of Land Management official said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Sunday night.

“They pander purely for political purposes and pay no attention to science.”

BIDEN APPEARS TO BREAK THE SCRIPT BY SAYING WE NEED OIL AND GAS DRILLING

Meanwhile, the DOI announcement is an apparent attempt by the administration to soften the blow on climate activists ahead of a pending decision on NPR’s massive 30-year oil drilling project.

The Biden administration is expected to announce on Monday the approval of three of the five drilling sites for the Willow Project, an oil project proposed several years ago by energy company ConocoPhillips, an aide to the congressman familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital.

The Biden administration is expected to announce on Monday the approval of three of the five drilling sites for the Willow Project, an oil project proposed many years ago by energy company ConocoPhillips, a congressional source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital Sunday.

The Biden administration is expected to announce on Monday the approval of three of the five drilling sites for the Willow Project, an oil project proposed many years ago by energy company ConocoPhillips, a congressional source familiar with the situation told Fox News Digital Sunday. (Bonnie Jo Mount/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

ConocoPhillips predicts Willow will produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day, create more than 2,500 construction jobs and 300 long-term jobs, and generate $17 billion in revenue for the federal government, Alaska, and local communities, many of which are Indigenous. In general, the total oil production over three decades could reach 600 million barrels.

While the DOI will release the final decision on the project, Biden and senior White House officials are actively involved in overseeing the approval process.

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“We cannot let the Willow project move forward. We must build a clean energy future, not revert to a dark past powered by fossil fuels,” tweeted Senator Ed Markey, Massachusetts. “It doesn’t matter which way this oil is flowing, it’s the wrong direction.”

Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, added that the administration’s anticipated approval of the project was “a total betrayal.”

Alaska Congressional delegation — Republican Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski and Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola — supported Willow along with the entire state legislature, Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy, Alaska Native communities, labor unions, North Slope County leaders, and Alaska. Native Federation.

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