Feb 29, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Interior Dept. moves to sell oil drilling rights in Alaska wildlife refuge

Orion Rummler

In this image, a polar bear pokes his head out of a snow mound. — A polar bear cub in 2014 in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in North Slope, Alaska. Photo: Steven Kazlowski/Barcroft Medi via Getty Images

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt said Saturday that the Trump administration is "about to finalize a leasing plan" to sell rights for oil drilling in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Bloomberg reports.

The intrigue: Some of America's biggest banks are cutting off financing for Arctic oil and gas projects.

Details: The Interior Department completed an environmental study of drilling in the Arctic refuge last year, per Bloomberg. Formal conditions for guiding development on leases sold in the region are still being developed.

Go deeper: A new phase in the Arctic drilling battle

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Interior Dept. moves to sell oil drilling rights in Alaska wildlife refuge

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