Trump administration will auction nearly 1.6 million hectares of land in Alaska, US to develop oil next month.

The US Land Administration (BLM) announced on November 5 that the annual auction of land lease for oil and gas extraction at the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska will be held on December 11. This is the 15th auction organized by BLM to lease land west of North Slope, Alaska.

BLM is completing a plan to reverse conservation decisions from the Obama era, including limiting oil and gas exploitation in half of the 9.3 million hectares area in the area to protect reindeer, migratory birds, Other important resources for indigenous and national people. The Trump administration and oil industry officials say the Obama administration's conservation policy is too strict and needs to be replaced.

"With advances in technology, we can better exploit oil and still protect important resources," Chad Padgett, Alaska BLM Director, said in the announcement.

Oil companies have not been allowed for decades to operate in reserves west of traditional Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk oil wells. They are planning to expand their operations west of North Slope, turning the largest US oil reserve into a promising new area for oil production.