In the first few hours of his second presidency, President Donald Trump issued an executive order that could pave the way for oil drilling in North Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, one of the last great wildernesses left in the US.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday repealing former President Joe Biden's efforts to block oil drilling in the Arctic and along large areas off the U.S. coasts, according to the White House.

US President Donald Trump revoked offshore oil and gas leasing bans that effectively blocked drilling in most US coastal waters as he made sweeping moves his first hours in office to unleash American energy development.

President Trump late Monday issued a pair of executive orders that seek to bolster oil and gas drilling — including in contentious areas of Alaska. One order seeks to open up drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and National Petroleum Reserve.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday repealing a 2023 memo from former President Joe Biden that barred oil drilling in some 16 million acres in the Arctic, the White House announced.