The Trump administration is moving to repeal Biden-era curbs blocking oil drilling across most of the mammoth petroleum reserve in Alaska that’s home to an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum announced the planned policy shift late Sunday at a town hall in Utqiagvik, a village on the Chukchi Sea coast, as he and fellow members of President Donald Trump’s cabinet visit Alaska to promote energy development in the region. The measure would open up new opportunities for oil and gas development in the 23 million-acre National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, an Indiana-sized parcel in the northwest of the state that was set aside as a source of energy for the Navy a century ago. The action responds to a directive Trump issued after his inauguration in January, when he signed an executive order compelling a host of policy changes meant to expand oil, natural gas and mineral development in Alaska. The reserve holds an estimated 8.7 billion barrels of recoverable oil, according to a 2017 assessment by the US Geological Survey. And its production is set to skyrocket, with the development of recent discoveries. Alaska has forecast that crude production from the reserve will climb to 139,600 barrels per day in fiscal 2033, up from 15,800 barrels per day in fiscal 2023. Trump’s measure would repeal a 2024 rule imposed under former President Joe Biden, which designated 13 million acres of the reserve as “special areas,” limiting future oil and gas leasing, while maintaining leasing prohibitions on 10.6 million acres of the NPR-A. The rule has complicated future oil drilling and production in the reserve where companies including ConocoPhillips, Santos Ltd., Repsol SA and Armstrong Oil & Gas Inc. have been active. ConocoPhillips is developing its 600-million-barrel Willow project in the refuge, which is expected to produce first oil in 2029. Burgum’s announcement

Oil climbed after OPEC+ increased production less than some had feared and geopolitical concerns flared in Ukraine and Iran. West Texas Intermediate gained 2.8% to settle near $63 a barrel after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies agreed on Saturday to add 411,000 barrels a day of supply in July though some members objected, including Russia. With a handful of countries lobbying for a pause in July, banks are now split on how many more hikes will come in subsequent months.  Monday’s gain — US crude initially added as much as 5.1% before easing alongside broader markets — is also likely being aided by an unwinding of bearish bets made in advance of the decision. The group had been considering returning even more volume late last week, and speculative short positions in global benchmark Brent already were the highest since October prior to the meeting.  “The worst of the fears was laid to rest,” said Keshav Lohiya, founder of consultant Oilytics. “Brent shorts are now at the highest level in 2025, which makes sense given the bearish headlines coming out of OPEC. However, this is creating a recipe for a spike if spot healthy market fundamentals continue to roll on.” Other bullish catalysts for crude are driving the advance, too. Ukraine struck air bases deep in Russia, while Iran criticized a report showing its growing stockpiles of enriched uranium, escalations that reduce the chances of more supply from the sanctioned OPEC+ members entering the market. Wildfires in Canada are also threatening output in the world’s fourth-largest producer.  US futures pierced the 50-day moving average, a technical marker had largely helped keep a lid on prices over recent weeks. Alongside OPEC+’s output hikes, oil has taken direction from the fortunes of the trade war between the US and China, which threatens to sap consumption this year. Prices briefly pared

Raging Western Canadian wildfires that have forced thousands of people from their homes are now also prompting evacuations from oilsands projects in northern Alberta. A fire near Cold Lake, Alberta is bearing down on oilsands operations and curtailing production in the region as employees are told to leave. Out-of-control fires in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba are threatening towns and mining operations as crews fight to contain the blazes. Canadian Natural Resources Ltd., the largest oil and gas producer in the country, said Saturday it had evacuated workers from its Jackfish 1 oilsands project and halted 36,500 barrels per day of bitumen production.  “All workers are safe and accounted for with no reported injuries,” the Calgary-based company said in a statement. Similarly, MEG Energy Corp. said late Saturday it had “proactively” evacuated all non-essential personnel from its Christina Lake project and that the wildfire had caused an outage to a third-party power line, disconnecting it from the grid.  The company said it is still producing oil from the project, though the startup of an additional 70,000 barrels per day of production will be delayed as a result of the power loss. “We are working closely with authorities and coordinating with our industry peers to support each other and resume normal operations,” MEG President and CEO Darlene Gates said in a statement. Earlier, Cenovus Energy Inc. put customers on notice that it may not make some oil deliveries from one asset and evacuated staff from another in the Cold Lake region. WHAT DO YOU THINK? Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.

Dive Brief: Declaring an emergency in parts of the PJM Interconnection’s footprint, the U.S. Department of Energy on Friday ordered Constellation Energy and PJM to continue operating 760 MW of oil- and gas-fired peaking capacity in Pennsylvania that Constellation had planned to deactivate the next day. The emergency order directs Constellation to keep operating two units at its Eddystone power plant near Philadelphia until Aug. 28. The order can be extended. PJM supports DOE’s order. “The department’s order is a prudent, term-limited step that will retain the covered generators for a 90-day period,” the grid operator said Saturday. “This will allow DOE, Constellation Energy and PJM to undertake further analysis regarding the longer-term need and viability of these generators.” Dive Insight: The Federal Power Act’s section 202(c) gives the DOE secretary the authority to temporarily order power plants to operate during wars and emergencies. It has been used 17 times since August 2020, according to DOE. DOE partly based its order on a May 9 report from PJM that said the grid operator had enough power supplies for this summer under normal conditions, but that under extreme conditions featuring record-setting demand it could have to call on demand response resources to avoid power outages. In determining that PJM faces an emergency, DOE also cited a PJM report from February 2023 indicating the grid operator faced tightening supply-demand conditions this decade. In addition, PJM in December asked FERC to approve a fast-track interconnection process for some planned power supplies to address potential reliability concerns, DOE said. FERC approved the plan in February. “The potential shortage of electric energy, shortage of facilities for the generation of electric energy, and other causes in the region support the need for the Eddystone Units to contribute to system reliability,” DOE said. DOE issued a similar

Dive Brief: Holtec International’s efforts to restart the 800-MW Palisades nuclear power plant pose “no significant impact” to the human environment, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said on Friday. The official notice of NRC’s finding removes a potential roadblock to what is expected to be the first recommissioning of a retired nuclear reactor in the United States later this year. NRC issued a draft finding of no significant impact, or FONSI, for the western Michigan plant in January, prompting a challenge from local and national anti-nuclear groups. “Pending all federal reviews and approvals, our restart project is on track and on budget to bring Palisades back online by the fourth quarter of the year,” Nick Culp, Holtec’s senior manager of government affairs and communications, said in an email. Dive Insight: The FONSI is a “major milestone on our regulatory path to reauthorize plant operations,” Culp added. NRC continues to review other aspects of the Palisades restart process, including a request to approve Holtec’s method for repairing an onsite steam generator system that NRC said last year showed wear that “far exceeded estimates based on previous operating history.” The wear may have been caused by shutdown crews not following protocol while laying up the plant in 2022, Holtec spokesperson Pat O’Brien told Reuters in October. NRC’s review timeline has slipped since March, when the commission said it would rule on outstanding licensing matters by July 31. Its website now shows an estimated completion date of Sept. 30 for the steam generator review, the last item on its docket.  But Holtec’s own estimates of when Palisades could power back up have not changed significantly from the October 2025 target O’Brien gave Utility Dive last September. Unlike many clean energy projects that received financial commitments from the Biden administration, the Palisades restart appears to

Dive Brief: The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved NuScale Power’s design for a 462-MW small modular reactor power plant, the U.S. nuclear regulator said on Thursday. NRC completed its technical review of NuScale’s US460 in less than two years, ahead of schedule and under budget, it said. The US460 is based on NuScale’s 12-module, 600-MW US600 design, which NRC approved in 2020 after more than three and a half years of review. The newly-approved design’s larger modules will help NuScale power plants more effectively serve hyperscale data center customers, CEO John Hopkins told investors in November. Data centers represent a key segment for the company as it looks to lock down its first U.S. customer this year. Dive Insight: The NRC approval came earlier than expected, according to estimated completion timelines provided by NRC and reiterated by Hopkins on several recent investor calls. NuScale had anticipated a final decision by July, Hopkins said on May 12. The approval could be crucial as NuScale moves through “advanced commercial dialogue with major technology and industrial companies, utilities and national and local governments,” Hopkins said in March. “Once we get finalization” for the 77-MWe design, “we’re off to the races,” Hopkins said. NuScale has not announced a binding customer deal. But in its first-quarter investor presentation, the company said it expected a “firm customer order” by the end of this year.  NuScale manufacturing partner Doosan has 12 modules in production now at its South Korea foundry and could deliver up to 20 per year in the near term, Hopkins said on May 12. Its first power plant could be operational by the end of 2030 if it gets a finalized deal soon, he added. For now, NuScale is acting as the nuclear technology subcontractor to Fluor Corp. on a 462-MW power plant