The head of the U.S. Department of the Interior visited Alaska on Thursday and spoke about Alaska’s role in national and international energy security.
Sec. Doug Burgum and his team were traveling to the U.S.-sponsored Indo-Pacific Energy Security Ministerial and Business Forum in Tokyo, Japan. They had a stopover at the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and were joined by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Burgum noted the increased importance of the conference due to the ongoing war in the Middle East and its effect on energy markets.
Burgum spoke to the press about the concept of “energy dominance,” frequently promoted by the Trump administration. He said the department’s goal is to ensure that energy in the U.S. is affordable and reliable. He said the department also wants U.S. allies and territories in the Pacific to have a secure energy supply.
“Where’d that energy best come from? It would best come from Alaska,” he said. “There’s no straits, there’s no threats. There’s no terrorist countries that are blocking it.”
In response to a reporter’s question, Burgum spoke about the proposed Alaska LNG project – a pipeline that would transport natural gas from the North Slope to the Kenai Peninsula. Burgum said his team plans to talk to more companies at the Tokyo conference about agreements to buy gas from the project.
A final decision on whether to build the proposed pipeline hasn’t been announced, but Burgum said the project is moving ahead.
“I’d say it’s needed more than ever right now in the world because of what we’re seeing,” he said. “Energy dominance is about energy abundance. Alaska can play a huge role in that, and that’s going to be great for Alaskans, great for America, and great for the world.”
One aspect of the Department of Interior’s work in Alaska is the Federal Subsistence Management System, which prioritizes hunting and fishing for rural residents on federal lands. The system is currently under review.
Burgum did not speak directly about the review but said the department is working to ensure Alaskans have more control over the decisions in their state, “without the federal government getting in the way.”
“In the general theme that we have from the Department of Interior is to follow the law and try to drive decisions that belong in the hands of Alaskans back to the people from Alaska around resource management, land management, et cetera,” he said.
Burgum also said the Ambler Road was needed to support development in that region and to increase the supply of critical minerals — which he said has grown more urgent due to China’s control over the production of those resources. Burgum said the federal government is discussing ways to finance the road.
