Public Land, Private Hands

Federal land and military installations opened to private industry, at times bypassing standard environmental and competitive review.

Ranked by appearances across this topic's actions.

• 
  Donald Trump

  Directed the Interior Department from day one of his second administration to "unlock Alaska's energy and resource potential," per Burgum's statement framing the reopening.
  3 actions
• Doug Burgum

  Interior Secretary who issued the public statement on the sale results, framing the $163.7 million in high bids as evidence of the National Petroleum Reserve's role in U.S. energy security.
  2 actions
• Bill Groffy

  Acting director of the Bureau of Land Management at the time of the sale; issued the public statement announcing the auction in February 2026.
  1 action
• Mike Dunleavy

  Alaska Governor; publicly advocated for reopening ANWR to drilling and praised the announcement as "historic for Alaska."
  1 action

Ranked by appearances across this topic's actions.

• Bureau of Land Management

  Conducted the March 18, 2026 NPR-A competitive lease sale under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Offered 625 tracts across ~5.5 million acres; awarded 187 leases on 1,334,967 acres to nine companies.
  2 actions
• Department of the Interior

  Issued the policy announcement reopening the ANWR Coastal Plain to oil and gas leasing and restoring the seven AIDEA leases that the prior administration had cancelled.
  2 actions
• Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority

  Recovered seven Coastal Plain oil and gas leases originally granted in 2021 and cancelled by the Biden administration in 2023; AIDEA was among the few bidders at the first ANWR lease auction.
  1 action
• Ambler Metals LLC

  Joint-venture vehicle holding the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects (Arctic and Bornite copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver deposits) and counterparty to the binding letter of intent with the U.S. Department of War.
  1 action
• Armstrong Oil and Gas

  Denver-based independent oil and gas company; bid through its subsidiary North Slope Exploration LLC and won leases at the March 2026 NPR-A sale.
  1 action
• 
  ConocoPhillips

  Largest winner of the March 2026 NPR-A sale; high bidder on 30 tracts — the most of any company. Already the dominant operator in the NPR-A through its Willow project area.
  1 action
• Council on Environmental Quality

  Directed to coordinate with agencies on establishing new NEPA categorical exclusions to facilitate construction of Qualifying Projects.
  1 action
• Department of Commerce

  Directed to launch a financial support initiative for Qualifying Projects including loans, loan guarantees, grants, tax incentives, and offtake agreements, and to determine which Project Sponsors qualify.
  1 action
• 
  Department of Defense

  Directed to identify suitable sites on military installations for data center and covered component infrastructure and to competitively lease available lands for Qualifying Projects.
  1 action
• Department of Energy

  Directed to identify and offer authorizations for suitable federal energy land sites for Qualifying Projects and to bear publication costs for the order.
  1 action
• 
  Environmental Protection Agency

  Directed by the order to expedite permitting under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Superfund statutes, and to develop guidance for reuse of Brownfield and Superfund sites for Qualifying Projects.
  1 action
• Epoch Oil and Gas

  Denver-based oil and gas company; submitted the single highest bid of the March 2026 NPR-A sale at $3.7 million for one tract.
  1 action
• 
  Exxon Mobil

  Committed more than $7 million across approximately 138,000 acres, returning to Alaska North Slope leasing in a move described as a "particularly big surprise" by the Anchorage Daily News.
  1 action
• Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council

  Directed to designate Qualifying Projects as transparency or covered projects under FAST-41 and publish expedited review schedules on the Permitting Dashboard.
  1 action
• Repsol

  Spanish integrated oil major; bid in partnership with Shell Frontier Oil and Gas, a Shell USA subsidiary. Several of the Repsol-Shell winning bids exceeded $2 million per tract.
  1 action
• Santos Ltd.

  Australian-headquartered oil and gas producer; a winning bidder at the March 2026 NPR-A sale. Specific tract count and bid amount not yet reported.
  1 action
• 
  Shell USA

  Through its Shell Frontier Oil and Gas Inc. subsidiary, partnered with Repsol on winning bids in the NPR-A sale; several joint bids exceeded $2 million per tract.
  1 action
• South32 Limited

  Received a parallel $17.8 million for an equivalent equity position plus a call option, mirroring the Trilogy Metals tranche. South32 is Trilogy's joint-venture partner in the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects.
  1 action
• Trilogy Metals

  Received $17.8 million in exchange for 8,215,570 units (each one common share plus three-quarters of a 10-year warrant exercisable at $0.01 per share). The transaction made the U.S. government a 10% shareholder with warrants to acquire an additional 7.5%.
  1 action
• U.S. Department of War

  Executed the strategic-investment letter of intent through the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisitions and Sustainment and the Office of Strategic Capital. Committed approximately $35.6 million across Trilogy Metals and South32 in exchange for equity and warrants.
  1 action

Derived from the organizations and individuals involved.

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• Political Committees & Political Money
• Private Foundations & Donor Networks
• State Government
• Technology & AI
• Telecommunications
• Trump Family Business