Today’s Key Takeaways: DOI Secretary takes immediate action to expand resource development in Alaska. Taiwan to invest in AKLNG. Record gold prices impact Alaska mines. Green groups suffer big losses under President Trump.
OIL:
Interior Secretary Takes Steps to Unleash Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential
Washington, D.C. – Department of the Interior Secretary Doug Burgum is taking immediate steps to unleash Alaska’s untapped natural resource potential and support President Donald J. Trump’s vision of American Energy Dominance.
Under the Secretary’s leadership, the Bureau of Land Management will pursue steps to expand opportunities for exploration and development in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska and the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The BLM will also work towards partial revocation of public land withdrawals that will help solidify the path forward for the proposed Ambler Road and Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline projects.
“It’s time for the U.S. to embrace Alaska’s abundant and largely untapped resources as a pathway to prosperity for the nation, including Alaskans,” said Secretary Burgum. “For far too long, the federal government has created too many barriers to capitalizing on the state’s energy potential. Interior is committed to recognizing the central role the State of Alaska plays in meeting our nation’s energy needs, while providing tremendous economic opportunity for Alaskans.”
In this initial suite of actions to implement Executive Order 14153 and Secretary’s Order 3422, both titled “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential,” the Interior and BLM will pursue:
- Reopening up to 82% of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska available to leasing and expanding energy development opportunities in the approximately 23-million-acre reserve. This plan would balance the Secretary’s responsibilities to provide for oil and gas leasing, exploration and development consistent with the energy needs of the nation and protect important surface resources in the reserve.
- Reinstating a program that makes the entire 1.56-million-acre Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge available for oil and gas leasing. This program would fulfill Congress’ intent in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and advance American Energy Dominance, while maintaining strong protections for important surface resources and uses in the Coastal Plain
- Revoking withdrawals along the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Corridor and Dalton Highway north of the Yukon River in order to convey these lands to State of Alaska. This action would help pave the way forward for the proposed Ambler Road and the Alaska Liquified Natural Gas Pipeline project, two projects that stand to increase job opportunities and encourage Alaska’s economic growth.
Earlier this year, President Trump committed to unlocking Alaska’s abundant supply of natural resources for the benefit of Alaskans and the nation, providing economic and national security for many generations to come. Through these actions and more to come, Interior is set to deliver on the President’s promise.
GAS:
Taiwan agrees to invest in major US LNG project
Robert Stewart, Upstream, March 20, 2025
Taiwan’s CPC Corporation will also broker an offtake deal with Trump-supported Alaska LNG development
Alaska LNG has struck a preliminary deal with Taiwan’s CPC Corporation for the state-owned company to invest in the US$44 billion US liquefied natural gas project, according to officials from one of the project’s developers.
Officials from Alaska and Taiwan signed a letter of intent Thursday for CPC to negotiate an LNG offtake deal in addition to the investment, the Alaska Gasline Development Corporation (AGDC) said.
The letter was signed in Taipei by AGDC general manager Frank Richards and officials from CPC, according to a news release from Taiwan’s Ministry of Economic Affairs. Also in attendance were Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and officials from Glenfarne, which is co-developing the project with AGDC.
Officials said the partnership will help bolster Taiwan’s energy security while also promoting Taiwan’s cooperation with the US.
Taiwan President Lai Ching-te also threw his support behind the deal.
“Alaska is a source of high-quality natural gas. Its relatively short distance from Taiwan facilitates transportation. We are very interested in buying Alaskan natural gas because it can meet our needs and ensure our energy security,” he said in a video posted on social media by Alaska LNG.
MINING:
Record gold prices could mean a banner year for Alaska mines • Alaska Beacon
Max Graham, Northern Journal, March 24, 2025
“Anyone with an operating gold mine is in a happy spot right now,” said one mining executive
A year ago, Alaska’s miners were selling gold at what seemed like a great price: around $2,200 per ounce. Today, that number sounds like a steal.
After a historic surge in value, gold is now selling at an all-time high: more than $3,000 an ounce, or an increase of some 35% since the beginning of 2024.
That’s great news for gold miners across the state, from Nome to Ketchikan — and for businesses of all sizes, from the multi-billion-dollar Kinross Gold Corp. to mom-and-pop placer operations.
Owing partly to the hot market, the value of gold produced statewide shot up more than 60% last year from the year before, according to a recent report in the trade publication North of 60 Mining News.
“We’re in uncharted territory. And we’ve gotten here very quickly,” said Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, the chief executive of Contango Ore, a Fairbanks-based company developing several gold deposits in the state.
The staggering rise in gold’s value, driven by global economic uncertainty and a range of other factors, is translating into a windfall for Kinross and the other multinational companies that operate Alaska’s four major gold mines, which reported huge earnings last year.
The price of gold is the “largest single factor in determining profitability,” according to financial statements from Kinross, which owns the massive Fort Knox mine near Fairbanks and the smaller Manh Choh mine, in partnership with Contango, near the Interior town of Tok.
But it’s not just the billion-dollar companies that are benefitting: Gold’s surge also could buoy Alaska’s 150 or so placer operations.
Those smaller mining businesses use water to wash heavier gold out of sand and other sediments, often along creekbeds. They tend to be family-run and have smaller profit margins than the large corporations that own Alaska’s biggest hardrock mines — meaning that the rising prices make a big difference.
“It’s good for everyone. It’s good for the big mines, small mines,” said Click Bishop, a former state senator from Fairbanks who runs a placer mine in the Interior. “The biggest thing is: It makes a lot more marginal ground minable.”
When gold was selling for less, some lower-grade deposits weren’t worth mining, Bishop added. “But at $3,000, that’s a different story,” he said.
POLITICS:
The Fossil Fuel Industry Gets Its Revenge on Green Activists – WSJBenoit Morene, The Wall Street Journal, March 20, 2025
Environmentalists reel under President Trump’s pro-fossil fuel and anti-climate actions, suffer big losses in court
The oil-and-gas industry is landing blow after blow against climate activists.
The Trump administration has cranked out approvals of major projects to ship liquefied natural gas from the Gulf Coast and killed a host of climate-related initiatives. Meanwhile, Texas billionaire Kelcy Warren has won a nearly $700 million verdict against Greenpeace that could spell the end of the group’s U.S. presence.
These are major setbacks for green groups. They have opposed new exports of U.S. natural gas, sought to stop new pipelines and asked the government to step up support of communities affected by climate change. The defeats herald the challenges that activists face as President Trump and his allies move to expand fossil fuels’ footprint here and abroad.
Trump has directed federal agencies to speed up permits for oil and gas infrastructure, a key demand of his oil and gas donors—including Warren, co-founder of pipeline giant Energy Transfer. The Trump team is also making deep cuts at the Environmental Protection Agency, which played a central role in the Biden administration’s rollout of climate policies.
Legal experts said that while green groups have dealt with previous administrations’ attempts to weaken environmental standards, they are facing an extraordinary challenge under Trump 2.0.
“What we’re seeing now is sort of this sense of the opportunity for revenge,” said Josh Galperin, an associate professor of law at Pace University.
Oil and gas executives who have seen their projects challenged by environmentalists and mired in lengthy permitting have applauded Trump’s actions.
“We’ve just kind of been the frog in the boiling pot, and it’s just gotten worse, and worse, and worse,” said Alan Armstrong, the chief executive of pipeline company Williams.
Green groups in recent years have become proficient at litigating against and protesting new pipelines, starting with Keystone XL. They have also opposed new LNG terminals on the Gulf Coast and last year notched a big victory when the Biden administration paused authorizations for new exports of U.S. natural gas.
Under Trump, their gains are rapidly unraveling.
The president on his first day in office lifted Biden’s pause on LNG exports. Energy Secretary and former oil chieftain Chris Wright has already granted permits to four LNG projects, including a conditional approval to Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass 2 terminal, known as CP2.
CP2 has been a test case for supporters and opponents of new natural-gas-export facilities. More than 230 climate groups and others urged Biden to reject the project, arguing that emissions linked to LNG produced there would equate to 20 times the annual emissions of ConocoPhillips’s Willow oil project in Alaska—a project Biden approved, to green groups’ dismay.