First of 6 Cook Inlet lease sales scheduled for 2026.
Trump finalizes US Gulf oil lease sale, proposes Alaska sale in 2026
Reuters, November 7, 2025
The Trump administration will hold an auction for drilling oil and gas off the U.S. Gulf next month and has proposed another in a waterway in southern Alaska, it said on Friday.
The lease sale in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which President Donald Trump refers to as the Gulf of America, will make about 80 million acres available. The sale, which will take place on December 10, will be the first of 30 sales in the region through 2040 that were included in Trump’s tax law which he signed in July.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, an office of the Interior Department, also proposed to make about 1 million acres available for leasing in Alaska’s Cook Inlet. The sale, scheduled for March 4 next year, would be the first of at least six Cook Inlet lease sales required by the law, scheduled annually from 2026 to 2028, and from 2030 to 2032.
The sales align with Trump’s policy of maximizing oil, gas and coal output while slashing regulations on fossil fuels and subsidies for green energy.
“BOEM is now moving forward with a predictable, congressionally mandated leasing schedule that will support offshore oil and gas development for decades to come,” Matt Giacona, acting director of the office, said in a statement.
Make mining reform stick!
As Federal Ground Shifts, Mining Industry Leaders Seek to Advance Projects
Alaska Business, November 6, 2025
Mining industry leaders are excited about getting projects off the shelves and into development under the second Trump administration. Beyond taking advantage of a favorable federal regulatory climate, they’re looking for ways to make responsible mining happen more easily regardless of which party is in control.
American Exploration and Mining Association (AEMA) Executive Director Mark Compton told the annual conference in Anchorage of the Alaska Miners Association that he believes bipartisan support exists within Washington DC to make that happen—maybe.
Making Reform Stick
“There is clearly a sincere desire in a bipartisan way in Congress to accomplish permanent reform legislatively. Now, I’m not going to be too Pollyannaish just here because we’ve been down this road many times, but there’s no doubt that there is a bipartisan effort out there—maybe even for different reasons—but everybody recognizes that permitting reform needs to happen,” Compton told a conference luncheon on November 4.
Compton, as the head of AEMA, a 129-year-old national mining advocacy organization, said the biggest change he’s noticed within Washington DC following Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president has been a shift in the attitude toward mining.
“This administration has made mining and mineral supply chains a big focus. That’s something we’re not used to in this industry,” he said. A handful of first-day executive orders on January 20 directly related to mining, including “Unleashing Alaska’s Extraordinary Resource Potential.” In February, the administration formed the National Energy Dominance Council to advise the president about how best to use his authority to make the United States self-sufficient.
US LNG 2025 volume quadrupled over 2024.
Six FIDs, $72 Billion: U.S. LNG’s Record-Breaking Year
Tsvetana Paraskova, OilPrice.Com, November 9, 2025
- American LNG developers have signed sales and purchase agreements for 29.5 million metric tons per year in 2025, a volume that has more than quadrupled compared to the entirety of 2024.
- Encouraged by market conditions, U.S. developers have made final investment decisions (FIDs) on six export projects this year, contributing to a record global LNG finance tally of $72 billion.
- Despite rising project costs, developers are successfully negotiating up to 15% higher liquefaction fees because buyers in Europe and Asia are willing to pay a premium to secure American LNG supply and reduce dependence on Russian gas.
Europe’s rush to shake off Russian gas dependence and Asia’s push to buy higher volumes of American energy while negotiating trade deals have created a booming export deal market for U.S. LNG exporters and developers, even at increased liquefaction fees.
Year to date, American LNG developers have signed sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) for existing and future export plants for a total of 29.5 million metric tons per year, according to data from consulting firm Rapidan Energy Group cited by Reuters.
The volume of newly contracted U.S. LNG more than quadrupled between January and October compared to the 7 million metric tons per year (mtpa) contracted for the whole of 2024.
The U.S. LNG industry is now on track to have signed the second-highest export volumes on record, trailing only 2022, when buyers in Europe turned en masse to American gas as Russian pipeline supply to Europe slumped and stopped for many EU markets, including Germany.
Encouraged by the Trump Administration’s energy policy, LNG developers are taking advantage of the market and regulatory tailwinds to approve investments in new projects.