Interior Department proposes restoring oil, gas drilling in Arctic after Biden restriction

The Interior Department on Monday proposed the restoration of oil and gas drilling in the Arctic after it had previously been restricted by the Biden administration.

The proposal is regarding 13 million acres of government-owned Arctic land that is part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, which is a total area of 23 million acres that former President Warren G. Harding set aside in 1923 as an emergency supply of oil for the Navy. The Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 transferred the reserves from the Navy to the Interior Department.

President Trump on Jan. 20 signed an executive order that directed a reversal of Biden administration policies that limited drilling in the area.