Arctic Alaska oil and gas lease sale draws record bidding, despite legal clouds

By: Yereth Rosen

Outlets: Alaska Beacon

Published: March 19, 2026

Words: 1,768

Last Updated: 1 day, 23 hours ago

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A controversial oil and gas federal lease sale in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska generated a new bidding record, according to results released on Wednesday. It was the first auction held in that Arctic Alaska territory since 2019.

The lease sale produced $163 million in high bids, beating the $104 million mark set during the first competitive oil and gas lease sale in the Indiana-sized reserve, which was held in 1999 during …

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