Executive Order 14153: Unleashing Alaska's Extraordinary Resource Potential

What does Executive Order 14153 do?

The order itself does not approve every project; permits, leases and environmental reviews remain separate actions.

Reading the operative provisions of Executive Order 14153

The order pairs a broad resource-development policy with specific Alaska assignments. It directs agencies to review and revise actions inconsistent with that policy, and it singles out federal actions affecting the Alaska LNG Project and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Interior was told to withdraw its 2021 Secretarial Order 3401, address earlier lease cancellations, resume the Coastal Plain leasing program, and take steps concerning permits, rights-of-way, and easements for oil and gas development. It also directs attention to pipeline and export infrastructure for Alaska LNG. These are separate administrative steps; the executive order is not itself a lease, pipeline approval, or construction permit.

The order names Interior, Commerce acting through NOAA, and the Army acting through its Assistant Secretary for Civil Works among the officials expected to use their lawful discretion. Other agencies may need to revise their own rules or decisions. A direction to expedite permitting changes agency priorities and review schedules, but does not erase the statutes governing land management, environmental review, consultation, or public participation. Individual approvals still depend on the application, governing law, and agency record. The order’s policy findings about jobs, security, and prices are the administration’s rationale, not guaranteed results. Read Executive Order 14153 in the Federal Register.

The order’s Alaska sections also name particular administrative records rather than only announcing a goal. Interior is directed to withdraw Secretarial Order 3401, which had temporarily halted specified Arctic National Wildlife Refuge leasing activity, and to address lease cancellations and the prior supplemental environmental impact statement. For the LNG project, agencies are told to prioritize needed pipeline and export infrastructure and consider stated economic and security interests. The order distinguishes federal action from Alaska’s state-land decisions: federal officials may use only the discretion Congress gave them. Whether a permit, lease, or environmental document is legally adequate remains a question for the responsible agency and any reviewing court.

Section 3 also lets agencies amend or defer their own actions and grant exemptions where consistent with the stated policy. That means readers should identify the exact agency action at issue before treating a broad review instruction as a final change. For the Refuge’s Coastal Plain program, the order lists several concrete Interior tasks; outside that program, other federal approvals may still be needed. The text directs Interior to weigh policy interests, but it does not transfer Alaska state lands to federal control or settle any dispute over a particular parcel.