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Topline
Oil producer ConocoPhillips announced Friday it approved the construction funds for a $8 billion oil-drilling operation in Alaska known as Project Willow, a final investment decision that comes days after a federal appeals court rejected a bid from environmental and Alaska Native groups that sought to block the project’s construction.
The project was approved by the U.S. Department of Interior in March. (Photo by Greg A. … [+]
Key Facts
The project was approved by the U.S. Department of Interior early this year and is projected to generate $8 billion to $17 billion in revenue, according to Bureau of Land Management data cited by ConocoPhillips in a statement.
ConocoPhillips estimates approximately 600 million barrels of oil will be produced across the project’s lifetime and that it can potentially create more than 2,500 construction jobs.
The project’s scope was reduced from five to three drilling sites to protect migratory routes for a regional caribou herd that has acted as a food source for some Alaska Native communities, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The reduction of the drilling sites was not enough for environmental and Native groups who filed for an emergency injunction a few weeks back that would have reversed Biden’s approval of the project.
Opponents of the project have argued it will worsen pre-existing climate change impacts in the region and harm local Native villages, according to Juneau-based news outlet KTOO, which reported that an environmental law firm, Trustees for Alaska, will continue to challenge Project Willow.
Crucial Quote
“We are grateful for the many supporters who advocated for Willow,” ConocoPhillips Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance said in a statement. “Alaska Native communities and groups, especially those closest to the project on the North Slope, continually provided input that helped shape this project.”
Contra
A senior staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska, which is representing the plaintiffs, told KTOO the appeals court’s decision to allow the project’s construction was disappointing, citing “ongoing litigation charging the Biden administration with unlawfully approving the project in the first place.” In 2020, the plaintiffs successfully challenged approvals of the project that were made under the Trump administration. However, the project was later approved after it was modified to feature fewer drilling sites once Joe Biden became president.
Key Background
Biden promised to move away from fossil fuels in 2020, a stance that has since been muddied by the president’s mixed oil production record. The Biden administration sold oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico in March, with Chevron and Exxon Mobil leading the auction that generated nearly $264 million. Biden also canceled the last remaining oil and gas leases in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge back in September. The cancellation reversed a Trump-era drilling program that was approved in 2017 but never officially operated.
Further Reading
ConocoPhillips to Develop Alaska-Based Willow Project Following Biden Administration Approval (WSJ)
Biden Administration Will Cancel Trump-Era Oil And Gas Leases In Alaskan Wildlife Refuge (Forbes)
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