Press Release: Corporations Continue to Walk Away from Leases to Drill in the Arctic Refuge

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2022
Contact:  Aileo Weinmann| 202-538-5038 | aileo@alaskawild.org                           

Corporations Continue to Walk Away from Leases to Drill in the Arctic Refuge
“Arctic Refuge drilling was never a good idea.”

Anchorage, AK – Knik Arm Services has canceled its lease in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, following Regenerate Alaska’s recent lease withdrawal, marking another step by corporations to walk away from oil and gas drilling on lands sacred to the Gwich’in people.

Statement by Peter Winsor, executive director of Alaska Wilderness League:

“Arctic Refuge drilling was never a good idea, and that’s why major oil companies took a pass when President Trump rushed through a lease sale in 2021.  Now, the only two remaining companies with plans to drill in the Arctic Refuge have cancelled their leases.”

“Through these actions, Regenerate Alaska and Knik Arm services are demonstrating that the risks of drilling in the Arctic Refuge aren’t worth the economic and other liability of ignoring the Gwich’in people, to whom the Refuge is sacred ground.

“Now all eyes are on the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) – a public corporation of the State of Alaska – to come to terms with the realities of Arctic Refuge drilling. While this corporation is known for poor business decisions, the decision to bid was outlandish, even by AIDEA standards.”

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Photo credit: Andy Moderow