Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

The 1,563,500-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is a frontier basin that holds strong potential for oil and gas development. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) estimates it may contain between 4.25 and 11.8 billion barrels of technically recoverable oil.

The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Public Law 115-97) directed the Secretary of the Interior, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), to establish and administer a competitive oil and gas program for the area.

The BLM held its first lease sale in the Coastal Plain on January 6, 2021, based on the August 2020 Record of Decision (ROD) for the Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program. Any future development in the area will require a separate, detailed environmental review.

In June 2021, the Secretary of the Interior issued Order 3401, which paused all activities related to the leasing program until a full environmental analysis could be completed under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). On September 6, 2023, the remaining leases from the 2021 sale were officially canceled by the Secretary of the Interior.

On December 8, 2024, the Department of the Interior issued a new Record of Decision, that made 400,000 acres available for a second lease sale. However, no bids were received by the deadline on January 6, 2025. Public bid opening scheduled for January 10 was subsequently canceled.

The BLM is implementing direction in Executive Order 14153 and Secretary’s Order 3422 to unleash the potential of the Coastal Plain by reversing the 2023 lease cancellations, reinstating the 2020 Record of Decision, and resuming and expanding leasing on the Coastal Plain. The BLM is also implementing direction in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (Public Law 119-21) that requires four lease sales in the Coastal Plain over the next seven years.