The Trump administration is restoring oil and gas drilling on millions of acres in the Arctic that had been blocked off by former President Biden, it announced Thursday.

The administration issued a press release saying it was issuing a final rule to rescind the Biden-era decision to restrict development on 13 million acres that are part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska.

It did not immediately provide a copy of the formal rescission, which is expected to appear in the Federal Register on Friday.

The petroleum reserve is a 23-million acre area set aside by former President Harding in 1923 as an emergency fuel supply for the Navy.

In more recent years, opening up the lands there for oil and gas development has been a partisan issue, with Democrats seeking to block off some of the acreage for environmental reasons.

Last year, when the Biden administration issued the rule that restricted drilling in the reserve, it said it was protecting the environment.

Now that it’s rescinding the Biden rule, the Trump administration argues that it is helping the local economy and bolstering energy security.

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Tagged: Energy BACK TO HOMEPAGE