The Art of the StealA project of the Save America Movement
Donate

★ Government Action

Trump's Interior Department generates record $164M from Alaska oil lease sale

Climate Policy RollbackFederal Lands GiveawaysFossil Fuel Deregulation

Filed March 2026$163,696,722

★ The Brief

What happened

On March 18, 2026, the Bureau of Land Management auctioned 187 oil and gas leases covering 1.3 million acres in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve, the first of five sales required by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act through 2035.

Who enabled it

Who benefits

Deal or steal?

Three of the seven named winning bidders had given to Trump's January 2025 inaugural committee: ConocoPhillips ($1M), Exxon Mobil ($1M), and Shell USA ($500K). ConocoPhillips emerged as the auction's largest winner.

The Bureau of Land Management held a competitive lease sale on March 18, 2026 for oil and gas drilling rights across 625 tracts covering approximately 5.5 million acres of Alaska's 23-million-acre National Petroleum Reserve. The sale generated $163,696,722 in high bids — the most revenue ever generated by an NPR-A lease sale, eclipsing the previous record of $104 million set during the first competitive lease sale in 1999. Eleven oil and gas companies submitted bids; nine won leases on 187 tracts totaling 1,334,967 acres. The sale was the first held in the National Petroleum Reserve since 2019, originally announced for March 9 before a public-notice error forced a brief delay, and was the first of at least five NPR-A lease sales required by Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which mandates the BLM offer no fewer than 4 million acres at each sale through 2035. ConocoPhillips was the largest winner, with high bids on 30 tracts; ExxonMobil committed more than $7 million across approximately 138,000 acres in a re-entry to North Slope leasing that surprised observers. Other named winners included Repsol (in partnership with Shell Frontier Oil and Gas, a Shell USA subsidiary), Australian producer Santos, Denver-based Armstrong Oil and Gas (via its North Slope Exploration LLC subsidiary), and Epoch Oil and Gas, which submitted the single highest bid at $3.7 million. Alaska receives approximately $82 million as its 50% statutory share of bid receipts.

Actors

Who pushed it · 3

Who initiated, paid, or pushed the action.

  • Bill Groffy

    Acting director of the Bureau of Land Management at the time of the sale; issued the public statement announcing the auction in February 2026.

  • Doug Burgum

    Interior Secretary who issued the public statement on the sale results, framing the $163.7 million in high bids as evidence of the National Petroleum Reserve's role in U.S. energy security.

  • Bureau of Land Management

    Conducted the March 18, 2026 NPR-A competitive lease sale under the Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Offered 625 tracts across ~5.5 million acres; awarded 187 leases on 1,334,967 acres to nine companies.

Beneficiaries

Who gained · 7

Who stood to gain.

  • Armstrong Oil and Gas

    Denver-based independent oil and gas company; bid through its subsidiary North Slope Exploration LLC and won leases at the March 2026 NPR-A sale.

  • ConocoPhillips
    ConocoPhillips

    Largest winner of the March 2026 NPR-A sale; high bidder on 30 tracts — the most of any company. Already the dominant operator in the NPR-A through its Willow project area.

    ConocoPhillips has paid into Trump’s orbit:

  • Epoch Oil and Gas

    Denver-based oil and gas company; submitted the single highest bid of the March 2026 NPR-A sale at $3.7 million for one tract.

  • Exxon Mobil
    Exxon Mobil

    Committed more than $7 million across approximately 138,000 acres, returning to Alaska North Slope leasing in a move described as a "particularly big surprise" by the Anchorage Daily News.

    Exxon Mobil has paid into Trump’s orbit:

  • Repsol

    Spanish integrated oil major; bid in partnership with Shell Frontier Oil and Gas, a Shell USA subsidiary. Several of the Repsol-Shell winning bids exceeded $2 million per tract.

  • Santos Ltd.

    Australian-headquartered oil and gas producer; a winning bidder at the March 2026 NPR-A sale. Specific tract count and bid amount not yet reported.

  • Shell USA
    Shell USA

    Through its Shell Frontier Oil and Gas Inc. subsidiary, partnered with Repsol on winning bids in the NPR-A sale; several joint bids exceeded $2 million per tract.

    Shell USA has paid into Trump’s orbit:

Sector-wide beneficiaries

Sources

Further reading