Placing half of the NPR-A off limits to future oil and gas development is a continuation of the president's energy policies that continue to impede domestic energy exploration and production
Obama Closes 50 Percent of the Naval Petroleum Reserve in Alaska
In 1923, President Warren Harding established the 23 million acre Naval Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) for the U.S. Navy at a time when it was converting its coal-fired ships to run on petroleum. In 1976, this Indiana-sized area was turned over to the Department of Interior and in 1980, the Bureau of Land Management was given authority to manage oil leasing on the lands. In December 2011, the Obama Administration provided 3 million acres for lease and intends to provide a total of 11.8 million acres in the NPR-A to future leasing. But, the administration's plan only allows about half of the NPR-A to be available to new oil development.
