Oil Giants Bid $163 Million in Trump’s Record Alaska Lease Sale

ConocoPhillips and Exxon Mobil Corp. were among oil companies that snapped up drilling leases in northern Alaska’s mammoth petroleum reserve in a record auction that drew $163 million in high bids.

The auction, the first in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve since 2019, saw companies submit about 430 bids across more than 1.3 million acres, indicating high interest in an area that was restricted during the Biden administration. Those restrictions were lifted late last year, and President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill mandated five lease sales in the reserve.

“The results of today’s sale are historic,” said Kevin Pendergast, ...