Today’s Key Takeaways: Big Exploration Plans for ConocoPhillips in Alaska. India eyeing AKLNG. Department of Defense to spend billions on US rare earths.
OIL:
ConocoPhillips Seeks New Oil Drilling in Alaskan Arctic
Jennifer A. Dlouhy, Bloomberg, July 14, 2025
ConocoPhillips is pushing to explore for more oil near its roughly $7.5 billion Willow project in Alaska, betting there are vast reserves of undiscovered crude in the state’s Arctic north.
The company filed applications Monday with federal regulators asking to drill four new test wells and undertake seismic studies to search for additional oil in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska. If approved, it would be ConocoPhillips’ largest exploration campaign since 2020.
The effort fits squarely into President Donald Trump’s push to increase domestic oil development and ConocoPhillips’ mission to further diversify its portfolio as shale basins in Texas and other states age.Alaska offers the company an opportunity to leverage an infrastructure network that includes both decades-old processing facilities and Willow, which is still under construction and is already projected to produce a 600 million barrels over 30 years.
“As we look out in the future, that’s an investment we want to keep full,” Erec Isaacson, president of ConocoPhillips Alaska, said in an interview. It’s a matter of “going out and exploring now to ensure that we continue to have this pipeline of opportunities that we’re looking at to backfill our infrastructure in the future.”
A company spokeswoman shared the following statement with AKHeadlamp:
ConocoPhillips is dedicated to the safe and responsible development of our leaseholds in Alaska for the benefit of all Alaskans and our nation’s energy security. We recognize the strategic importance of resource development in the state and are seeking authorization from the Bureau of Land Management to conduct exploration activities in the NPR-A during the winter season of 2025-2026.
ConocoPhillips looks forward to continuing our more than 50-year track record of responsibly exploring for and developing Alaska’s resources in the years ahead.
Background:
- ConocoPhillips has submitted a permit application for the following exploration activities:
- Seismic program south of the Greater Mooses Tooth and the Bear Tooth Units
- One-well exploration program in the Greater Mooses Tooth Unit
- Three-well exploration program with one well in the Bear Tooth Unit and two wells to the west
- We have invested billions of dollars to purchase leases in the NPR-A, conduct exploration activities, and responsibly develop our leases subject to some of the most stringent environmental protections in the world.
- Responsible development in the NPR-A supports our nation’s energy security, well-paying union jobs and economic benefits for local Alaska Native communities and the state of Alaska.
- The NPR-A is a petroleum reserve that was set aside by Congress for oil development.
GAS:
India-US energy ties: GAIL eyes deal with Donald Trump champ ..
Times of India, July 16, 2026
State-owned gas utility GAIL Ltd has entered initial discussions to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the proposed Alaska LNG project. India is in talks with energy developer Glenfarne as it looks to boost energy imports from the United States.
The move is aimed at reducing its trade surplus with Washington and is part of a wider effort to strike a trade deal that could help avoid steep US tariffs, as per Reuters.
However, sources familiar with the matter said the viability of any deal will hinge on the landed cost of gas from Alaska, which is a key factor in GAIL’s decision-making process.
While Glenfarne declined to confirm discussions with GAIL, it told Reuters in an that “Alaska LNG’s growing commercial momentum reflects the project’s competitive economic and geostrategic advantages.”
The $44-billion Alaska LNG project, which has struggled to get off the ground for over a decade and was backed by US President Donald Trump, recently gained attention after Thailand’s state-owned PTT signed a 20-year deal to purchase 2 million tonnes of LNG annually.
So far, around 50 companies have expressed interest in the project, which is expected to export up to 20 million tonnes of LNG per year. A final investment decision on the first phase, a 765-mile pipeline transporting gas from Alaska’s northern fields to the Anchorage region, is expected later this year.
MINING:
DOD commits billions to US rare earths
Shane Lasley, Metal Tech News, July 10, 2025
Calvary arrives to build and protect mine-to-magnets rare earth supply chain with MP Materials.
In an unprecedented move to establish a domestic supply of the rare earths essential to the national security and economic well-being of the United States, the Pentagon has entered into a multi-billion-dollar partnership with MP Materials, owner and operator of the Mountain Pass rare earths mine in California’s Mojave Desert.
The deal begins with a $400 million investment that positions the U.S. Department of Defense to become MP Materials’ largest shareholder. MP plans to use the money raised through this financing to help build the 10X Facility, which will increase the company’s rare earth magnets production capacity to 10,000 metric tons per year.
To help insulate MP and its expanded rare earths and magnets production in the U.S. from Chinese market manipulation, the Pentagon is guaranteeing a buyer for all the magnets produced at 10X, as well as a minimum sale price for all the magnet rare earths neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) products stockpiled or sold by the company for a decade.
To round off its commitment to ensuring the U.S. has a secure and reliable supply of the rare earths most vital to American industry and military readiness, DOD is loaning MP $150 million to expand heavy rare earth separation capacity at Mountain Pass.
“This initiative marks a decisive action by the Trump administration to accelerate American supply chain independence,” said MP Materials Chairman and CEO James Litinsky.