The Trump administration said it will begin leasing oil exploration blocks in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), inflaming opposition at a time when it may not even be economically attractive to drill in the region.
Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Monday that opening up 1.5 million acres of federally owned land in the refuge will create thousands of jobs and marks “a new chapter in American energy independence.” The first lease sale could take place by the end of this year, four years sooner than is required by 2017 legislation. A tax bill passed that year by Congress, then controlled by Republicans, included a provision that lease sales be held by 2024.
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