On April 25, 2022, the Department of the Interior announced that it has signed a new management plan for the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A), a 23 million-acre area on Alaska’s North Slope.[1] The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) says that the plan “balances protection of special areas and wildlife habitat with responsible resource development.” The BLM had announced in January 2022 that it would review the integrated activity plan (IAP) for the area. The final decision reverses a Trump-era plan that had opened 82% of the NPR-A’s land to oil and gas leasing. The new plan reinstates the previous management plan, which was put into place by the Obama administration in 2013. The new IAP protects about half of the reserves lands, including caribou and avian habitats, from oil and gas leasing. It also includes new requirements for potential oil and gas drilling, such as revised operating standards to protect endangered species. The BLM has held a yearly oil auction in the NPR-A since 2010, with the exception of 2020 when oil and gas prices were low due to the pandemic.

[1] https://www.blm.gov/press-release/following-january-announcement-bureau-land-management-issues-record-decision-national

On March 8, 2022, President Biden announced that his administration is banning all Russian oil, natural gas, and coal imports to the U.S. in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.[1] During the announcement, President Biden warned that the ban could lead to a spike in gas prices within the U.S. and said that he would work to mitigate the ban’s impact. Biden called on domestic oil producers to pump more oil to keep prices from rising. In the long run, he stated that the way to avoid high gas prices is to speed up the transition to clean energy.

Russia is the third-biggest oil producer in the world and is the third-largest source of oil to the U.S. Russia accounts for about 8% of imported oil and petroleum products. According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), about 1% of Russia’s annual oil production is sent to the U.S.[2] In 2021, the U.S. imported an average of 209,000 barrels per day of crude oil and almost 500,000 barrels per day of other petroleum products from Russia, according to the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers.[3] Most of the other petroleum products are unfinished oils that are processed into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, among other products.

[1] https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/03/08/fact-sheet-united-states-bans-imports-of-russian-oil-liquefied-natural-gas-and-coal/

[2] https://www.eia.gov/international/analysis/country/RUS

[3] https://www.afpm.org/newsroom/blog/oil-and-petroleum-imports-russia-explained