Trump Officials Promote Arctic Drilling at Alaska Summit \ Newslooks \ Washington DC \ Mary Sidiqi \ Evening Edition \ Top Trump officials visited Alaska’s Arctic oil fields and headlined a state energy conference promoting expanded drilling. Environmental groups protested the event, criticizing it for ignoring climate solutions. The administration is also courting Asian support for a multibillion-dollar natural gas project.
Quick Looks
- Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin led Trump’s Alaska energy tour.
- The officials visited Prudhoe Bay and Alaska’s North Slope to highlight expanded drilling and resource extraction.
- They spoke at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage.
- Protesters outside the conference criticized the fossil fuel focus and lack of climate-centered solutions.
- Topics at the conference include oil, gas, nuclear, carbon management, hydrogen, and mining.
- Trump aims to revive a long-stalled liquefied natural gas project tied to Asian exports.
- U.S. officials were joined by delegates from Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, the Philippines, and UAE.
- The $44 billion project includes an 810-mile pipeline from Alaska’s North Slope to port.
- Burgum announced plans to repeal Biden-era protections in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
- Gwich’in leaders oppose Arctic Refuge drilling; Iñupiat leaders support it for economic reasons.
Deep Look
In a bold reaffirmation of its pro-fossil fuel agenda, the Trump administration has intensified efforts to expand oil and gas development in Alaska, sending top officials to the state’s Arctic oil fields and a major energy summit in Anchorage. The push, led by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright, and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, underscores President Donald Trump’s vision for Alaska as a cornerstone of American energy dominance.
The officials kicked off their multiday tour with a stop at the Prudhoe Bay oil field, posing for photos near the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline. They held closed-door meetings with pro-drilling officials, including some Alaska Native leaders from the oil-rich North Slope. Their appearance at Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference was met with criticism from environmental groups, who staged protests outside the venue.
Dozens of demonstrators, carrying signs reading “Protect Our Public Lands” and “Alaska Is Not for Sale,” slammed the event for focusing heavily on fossil fuels while largely sidelining the climate crisis. Activist Sarah Furman called Trump’s energy vision a “false solution” to global climate and energy needs.
“It’s disingenuous to hold a conference like this without prioritizing real climate solutions,” she said.
A Controversial Fossil Fuel Showcase
The conference, which runs through Thursday, explores a wide range of topics including oil and gas, nuclear energy, carbon capture, renewables, hydrogen, and mining. Still, the emphasis remained firmly on fossil fuel expansion. Dunleavy has long defended oil as central to Alaska’s economic future, even as he promotes diversification into newer energy sources.
Secretary Wright defended continued oil production as necessary, calling the term “clean energy” inaccurate marketing and insisting all energy production has environmental impacts. He dismissed climate-focused restrictions as ineffective, arguing:
“Stopping oil production in Alaska doesn’t stop the world’s demand for oil.”
Zeldin echoed that sentiment during a friendly Q&A with Dunleavy. Reflecting on his trip to the North Slope, Zeldin remarked that local wildlife appeared “happy” and unaffected by oil operations—comments met with disbelief from environmentalists.
Secretary Burgum, meanwhile, used the occasion to announce that the Trump administration will move to repeal Biden-era limits on leasing in parts of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska designated for wildlife and subsistence protection. He insisted that development and conservation can coexist in the region.
Indigenous Divide on Drilling
The push to expand drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has reopened deep divides among Alaska Native communities. Rochelle Adams, a Gwich’in protester at the conference, condemned the drilling proposals as a violation of sacred land. The Gwich’in people rely on the Porcupine caribou herd, which calves on the refuge’s coastal plain.
“It’s our health, our wellness, our way of life at risk,” Adams said. “They take and take—and leave us with the consequences.”
However, Iñupiat leaders in Kaktovik, a village within the refuge, support expanded oil development as an economic lifeline. They have allied with Alaska’s political leadership and welcomed Trump’s intention to revive leasing plans in the area.
Asian Partnerships and the LNG Gamble
Another focal point of the Trump administration’s Alaska tour is the decades-old plan to build a massive liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline. The $44 billion proposal includes an 810-mile pipeline connecting the North Slope to a southern export terminal, with the goal of supplying LNG to Asia.
Representatives from Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates joined U.S. officials at Prudhoe Bay to inspect infrastructure and meet with business leaders and residents. The administration is courting these nations to sign on as partners and investors to breathe life into the long-stalled project.
Wright said the goal of their inclusion was for them to “see Alaska’s energy landscape firsthand” and better understand the project’s scale and promise. On Tuesday, Glenfarne Alaska LNG LLC, the project’s leading developer, announced it had received “expressions of interest” from potential international partners. Final cost assessments are underway before any decision is made to proceed.
Trump Officials Promote Trump Officials Promote
You must Register or Login to post a comment.