A Florida company wants to expand a big offshore oil unit on the edge of ANWR

A small company headquartered in suburban Florida is asking the state for permission to expand a large offshore oil and gas unit on the North Slope — one that sits right at the edge of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Alaskans have until July 21 to tell the state what they think.

The company is Donkel Oil & Gas LLC, based in Winter Springs, Florida, near Orlando. It wants to add two state offshore leases to its Greater Point Thomson Unit, which lies offshore the North Slope along the Staines River, at the western edge of the Arctic refuge. Donkel formed the unit in 2022, staking out roughly 52,600 acres of state land — a sizable Arctic holding for a company a continent away.

The location is what gives the application weight. This is offshore Arctic water beside some of the most environmentally and politically charged ground in the country, near Iñupiat communities whose subsistence — including bowhead whaling — depends on a healthy coast. The North Slope Borough has previously raised concerns that offshore industry expansion can disrupt local communities and the subsistence activities they rely on.

There's also an oddity in the paperwork. The state's own oil-and-gas newsroom lists the application with an "Approved 06/01/2026" label — a date that falls before the June 21 notice that opened the comment window. It isn't entirely clear what that label marks, and the Division of Oil and Gas says it will still issue a formal written decision, to approve or deny, only after comments close. Still, it's a fair thing for a would-be commenter to wonder: how much weight will public input carry?