In January 2021, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) held the first of two auctions for leases to develop oil and gas resources in the Coastal Plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. The results from the sale were disappointing and fell far short of what taxpayers were promised when ANWR leasing was authorized in 2017. Several developments since the first lease sale have further demonstrated little industry interest and poor prospects for any oil and gas development in the area as the companies started to rescind their leases.

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