Oil companies place no bids in Alaska wildlife refuge drilling auction

The allure of Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge has met an unusual silence. The recent oil and gas lease auction, set against this rugged backdrop, attracted zero interest from energy companies. Why? High development costs and the tricky optics of drilling in a sanctuary seem to have deterred bidders. The absence of bids highlights the tension between economic pursuits and environmental stewardship, underscoring a growing hesitance to exploit such pristine lands, even when the stakes are as black as oil.

Why does this matter in Minot? Here and beyond, there’s an idea that drilling more will solve all our energy problems. There’s a problem with that logic though, we can’t make anyone drill if they don’t want to. And the oil companies have a big reason to not keep opening new taps — more supply lowers prices, at least according to Econ 101 – Introduction to Microeconomics.

Partisans will no doubt say that the regulatory policies of the present administration created this outcome. We’re about to find out if that’s true, as the next administration is likely to take a markedly different approach.

Richard Valdmanis and Timothy Gardner

Reuters

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