US to cancel Alaska oil, gas leases issued under Trump

The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday will announce the cancellation of oil and gas leases in a federal wildlife refuge that were bought by an Alaska state development agency in the final days of the Trump administration, according to sources briefed on the matter.

The Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA) was issued seven leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge a day before the inauguration of President Joe Biden, who had pledged to protect the 19.6 million-acre (7.7 million hectares) habitat for polar bears and caribou.