The U.S. Interior Department on Wednesday said no bids were submitted for this week's oil and gas lease sale in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — a sale the state has challenged as too restrictive and at odds with a 2017 law aimed at opening the refuge's sweeping coastal plan to exploration and development.

A scheduled oil and gas lease sale in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge yielded no bids, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.

The state of Alaska has been the biggest fan of oil and gas drilling in the refuge. It says this lease sale is designed to discourage development.

Alaska on Wednesday sued the Biden administration over restrictions the federal government imposed in December on oil and gas leases in the Arctic set for auction this week. The lawsuit alleges the restrictions,

The lack of interest raises questions about the future of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, after decades of debate.

Bids for oil exploration rights in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge’s coastal plain will be opened on Jan. 10, a day later than originally scheduled, the U.S. Bureau of Land

Click for the latest from The Hill{beacon} Energy & Environment Energy & Environment   The Big Story Companies decline to drill in Alaska wildlife refugeAlaska on Wednesday

The U.S. state of Alaska has sued the Biden administration for what it calls violations of a Congressional directive to allow oil and gas development in a portion of the federal Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR).

The lease auction for oil and gas drilling in the Coastal Plain of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska has not received any bids from energy companies. The US Interior Department confirmed the absence of bids for the congressionally mandated auction,