New report released by the World Wildlife Fund analyses the economics of oil and gas development in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge finding that the leases sold are unlikely to be economic to produce oil, and that the United States will not therefore achieve significant revenue from the oil and gas leasing program.

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“In conclusion, the best available data for the future price of oil, combined with our analysis of the modeling from industry-trusted Rystad Energy, demonstrates that oil production from the Arctic Refuge is unlikely to be economic. This finding is further backed up by the paltry results of the first Arctic Refuge lease sale, as well as other on-the-Arctic-ground and in-the-boardroom factors related to pursuing Arctic Refuge oil. This conclusion also means that the roughly $1 billion economic return to the United States on which Congress based its authorization for an Arctic Refuge oil and gas leasing program is magnitudes off the true mark and thus wholly unrealistic.”

Report available here.