The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has completed an oil and gas lease sale in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska, awarding five leases and generating $3.74m in total receipts.
The sale was carried out in line with the Working Families Tax Cuts Act and marks the first such auction since the passage of the legislation.
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According to the BLM, the State of Alaska will receive nearly $2m, or half of the bid receipts.
The BLM, part of the Department of the Interior, offered 58 tracts covering 688,829 acres for bidding in the auction. The five leases awarded span 72,049 acres in total.
Only two entities, Hex Energy and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, submitted bids during the auction.
The highest individual winning bid, submitted by Hex Energy, was $1.7m for tract No. 112.
Since January 2025, the BLM has taken steps to advance leasing activity in the Coastal Plain, citing Executive Order 14153, Secretary’s Order 3422 and the Working Families Tax Cuts Act as guiding directives.
The bureau reversed lease cancellations made in 2023, issued a new 2025 Record of Decision and expanded leasing options in the Coastal Plain of the ANWR.
BLM director Steve Pearce said: “This lease sale is another important step toward restoring American Energy Dominance and responsibly developing the vast resources Congress directed us to make available in the Coastal Plain.
“The previous administration did everything in its power to discourage industry from development in the Coastal Plain. The strong industry interest we saw today reflects confidence in Alaska’s resource potential and the Trump administration’s commitment to providing certainty for investment.
“These leases will help create jobs, generate significant revenue for Alaska and the nation and support the reliable domestic energy production Americans depend on every day.”
This event represents only the second successful lease sale in the region. Donald Trump is the first and only president to oversee such sales in the ANWR following the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.
The previous administration had discouraged lease sales in this area.
The auction is the first of four planned sales mandated in the ANWR region by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which was signed into law in 2025, reported Reuters.
Interest from oil and gas companies in the 1.5-million-acre coastal section of the ANWR remains limited. This is despite US Geological Survey estimates that suggest the area could hold up to 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.
The area’s initial lease sale in 2021 also saw minimal participation.
In the current market, many oil producers have concentrated on projects in more accessible locations and prioritised returning cash to shareholders over new exploration efforts, according to Reuters.
In contrast to the neighbouring National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, the 19-million-acre ANWR lacks established roads, infrastructure or facilities.
