On his first day in office, President Trump issued an executive order titled Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential – to encourage the development of Alaska’s resources “to the fullest extent possible.” Earlier this month, a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing on President Trump’s Executive Order of the same name. It was yet another demonstration of how this Congress and this administration are working together to unleash America’s energy potential. It was also a recognition of just how critical a piece Alaska is to our energy puzzle.
Alaska’s North Slope is home to some of the largest oil and natural gas fields in the country, yet much of that resource remains untapped. Why? For years, Alaska’s natural resources have been locked up by environmental activists and their political allies.
Our 49th state has been consistently managed as though it were just something to be admired from afar. Ongoing regulatory challenges, constant political uncertainty, and the endless threat of litigation have discouraged investment. The result has been a severe lack of infrastructure, billions in lost revenue and the loss of countless jobs, not to mention the national security concerns that come with the failure to develop these domestic resources.
President Trump and the Republicans in Congress want to change that. By ending moratoriums, resuming federal lease sales, and restoring access to areas already designated for resource development but locked up to satisfy political agendas, Washington is signaling that Alaska will no longer be viewed solely as a playground for the elite. Equally important, the administration and Congress are committed to streamlining permitting and ending the practice of using bureaucratic delay as a tool of obstruction. These shifts are a clear recognition that Alaska is a cornerstone of America’s energy security.
Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, with support from Governor Dunleavy and Alaska’s Congressional delegation, has undone several Biden-era restrictions on fossil fuel and mining development in Alaska. Burgum’s actions include reopening 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska and 1.56 million acres of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s Coastal Plain for oil and gas leasing, countering Biden’s cancellation of ANWR leases and closure of 13 million NPR-A acres. Additionally, he approved permits for the Ambler mining road and a liquified natural gas pipeline, lifted restrictions along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor and Dalton Highway, and transferred that land to Alaska. These steps reversed Biden policies that restricted 28 million acres of public lands, banned oil and gas activities in the Northern Bering Sea, scaled back the ConocoPhillips Willow project, and withdrew 625 million acres from offshore leasing.
One of the biggest indications of a turning tide is that, after decades of being viewed only as a state initiative, the $44 billion Alaska LNG project is now being seen as the national asset that it can be. The pipeline would tap into approximately 35 trillion cubic feet of stranded gas reserves on Alaska’s North Slope, transporting up to 500 million cubic feet per day under a sales agreement with Great Bear Pantheon to a liquefaction facility in Nikiski, southwest of Anchorage, providing a shorter, more efficient shipping route to key markets like Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines. The initiative aligns with natural gas’s role as the fastest-growing global energy source over the past 15 years, supplying 25% of primary energy worldwide. Federal recognition of the project’s strategic importance means greater certainty for investors and a clearer path to completion. For Alaskans, that could translate to thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity.
Despite this, many continue to push for new restrictions without recognizing that Alaska already has some of the most stringent environmental protections when it comes to its own lands. Federal officials sitting in air-conditioned offices thousands of miles away have long underestimated Alaska’s ability to balance stewardship with development. They also overlook the fact that resource production is what the state’s economy runs on, what supports local services, and what sustains communities.
Alaska has always been the last frontier. Today, it can be the first frontier of a new era in American energy independence and economic growth. Alaska is ready to lead, and for once, Washington is listening. We cannot afford to keep Alaska locked up any longer. If we are serious about American energy independence and prosperity, the time is now to let Alaska do what it does best – develop and produce its God-given natural resources.
Tom Pyle is the President of the Institute for Energy Research…