Congress Disapproves BLM Rule on Alaska Oil

This joint resolution reopens portions of the National Petroleum Reserve for oil and gas leasing. (The reserve is an approximately 23-million-acre area on Alaska’s North Slope.) Specifically, the joint resolution nullifies a plan submitted by the Bureau of Land Management in a rule titled National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska Integrated Activity Plan Record of Decision and issued on April 25, 2022. The 2022 plan replaced the 2020 plan and closed approximately 48% of the reserve to oil and gas leasing in order to protect certain surface resources and uses, such as protecting wildlife and providing subsistence for communities. Thus, the joint resolution removes the protections provided under the 2022 plan and reverts to the 2020 plan.