The controversial Willow Project will move forward after an uncertain future under President Joe Biden. The government approved the project this week, despite strong opposition from environmental groups.
Here are some details to help you understand the project and the controversy surrounding it.
What is the Willow Project?
It is currently the largest proposed oil project in the United States. ConocoPhillips, an oil company based in Houston, will drill in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
The company expects to produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day, which would represent 1.5% of total U.S. oil production.
ConocoPhillips has been exploring and drilling for oil in Alaska for years. The company is the only one currently operating oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, although its two operational projects are smaller than Willow.
Was the Willow Project approved?
The Biden administration greenlit the project on Monday (13). However, the American president approved a scaled-down version of the plan, which included drilling at three instead of the five drilling sites proposed by ConocoPhillips.
The exclusion of these additional sites reduced the size of the project by about 40% and eliminated the need for 11 miles of road, 20 miles of pipelines, and 133 acres of gravel.
Why did Biden approve the Willow Project?
According to the Biden Administration, the company had valid rights to the land due to decades-old leases. In a legal dispute, courts would have prevented a total rejection of the project and could have potentially imposed fines on the government.
Where will the Project take place?
The project will be located in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which spans approximately 23 million acres in the Beaufort Sea, north of the Arctic Circle and about 200 miles west of existing oil fields in Prudhoe Bay.
Why the controversy?
By the government’s own estimates, the project could generate enough oil to release 9.2 million metric tons of carbon pollution per year – equivalent to adding 2 million gasoline-powered cars to the roads.
During his 2020 presidential campaign, Biden promised to end new oil and gas drilling on public lands and waters – which he initially implemented as part of an executive order.
However, the drilling pause was overturned by a federal judge in 2021, and since then, the Biden administration has opened several areas for new drilling. Several of these new oil and gas drilling areas have been challenged in court by environmental groups. The Willow Project is likely to face a battle in the courts as well.
Source: CNN