Trump officials visit key operations at prolific Alaska oil field amid push to expand drilling

DEADHORSE Alaska AP Three Trump Cabinet members began a tour at a key point of operations at a prolific oil field near the Arctic Ocean in Alaska on Monday part of a multiday trip aimed at highlighting President Donald Trump s push to expand oil and gas drilling mining and logging in the state The arrival of Interior Secretary Doug Burgum Resource Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin at Deadhorse came hours after Burgum s agency mentioned it would follow through with plans to repeal Biden-era restrictions on future leasing and industrial progress in portions of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska The petroleum reserve is west of Deadhorse which is located at Prudhoe Bay at the starting point for the nearly -year-old -mile -kilometer Trans-Alaska Pipeline System Executive and industry representatives from several Asian countries also were expected to participate in a portion of the U S representatives trip as Trump has focused renewed attention on a massive proposed natural gas pipeline project that Alaska agents have sought for decades as a way to provide gas to residents and overseas markets The project has struggled to gain traction amid cost and other concerns and even particular state lawmakers remain skeptical it will come to fruition Wright on Monday announced the gas line could become the big beautiful twin to the oil pipeline This followed comments by Burgum a day earlier that the gas project carries anticipated national safety benefits if the U S can sell liquefied natural gas to allies in Asia The Trump administrators were joined Monday by a group that included U S Sen Dan Sullivan and Gov Mike Dunleavy both Republicans who also took part in meetings Sunday in Anchorage and Utqiagvik In that Arctic area which this time of year experiences hours of daylight countless Alaska Native leaders encouragement Trump s push for more drilling in the petroleum reserve and to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil evolution They lauded the visit after lamenting that they felt ignored by former President Joe Biden s administration U S Sen Lisa Murkowski an at-times vocal critic of Trump joined for the Sunday meeting in Anchorage where she explained Alaska leaders want to partner with you We want to be that equal at the table instead of an afterthought Alaska political leaders have long complained about perceived federal overreach by the U S ruling body which oversees about of lands in Alaska Sullivan Murkowski and Dunleavy have complained that Biden s unit was too heavy-handed and restrictive in its approach to multiple asset growth issues Environmentalists criticized Interior s planned rollback of restrictions in portions of the petroleum reserve designated as special for their wildlife subsistence or other values While Sullivan called the repeal a top priority saying Congress intended to have evolution in the petroleum reserve environmentalists maintain that the law balances allowances for oil drilling with a need to provide protections for sensitive areas The Interior Department announced it will accept populace comment on the planned repeal The visit by Trump agents also is slated to include addressing Dunleavy s annual vitality conference Tuesday in Anchorage Bohrer stated from Juneau Alaska Source