What is the Willow Project

2023 - 3 - 1

Post cover — Image courtesy of "The Washington Post"

Officials offer climate activists possible deal on Alaska oil project (The Washington Post)

The White House has said it could shrink the ConocoPhillips Willow project and block Arctic Ocean drilling. But environmental groups are not won over.

In recent weeks, several Alaska Native groups have also traveled to Washington for routine meetings that have often become about Willow and the state’s oil industry. From 2015 to 2021, the Alaskan economy performed “at or near the bottom” nationally in four key measures of economic health, according to a report released last year by the University of Alaska Center for Economic Development. That has led to an aggressive lobbying campaign from Murkowski and other Alaskan elected officials to persuade the White House to accept the three-pad option outlined in the review. “You can see by the expression and the body language that is not a factor in their decision-making. The company’s plan for a 30-year project includes drilling on top of permafrost and constructing a network of chilling tubes to keep it frozen even as the region warms. “The western Arctic is one of the world’s last truly intact landscapes with tens of millions of acres that are completely undeveloped and that have only known subsistence use,” Sen. But the project’s supporters include other Biden allies — trade unions, many Alaska Natives and [two key Alaskan politicians](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/03/alaska-lawmakers-up-pressure-biden-approve-massive-oil-project/?itid=lk_inline_manual_21) — who say the project will boost the economy in a region that needs it. “We believe this project fits with the Biden Administration’s priorities on environmental and social justice, facilitating the energy transition and enhancing our energy security — all while creating good union jobs and providing benefits to Alaska Native communities,” company spokesman Dennis Nuss said in a statement. On Monday and in February, White House officials outlined two possible options for prominent environmentalists, suggesting the administration may pair one of the options with the offshore drilling ban and other moves, the three individuals said. But according to individuals familiar with the process, White House officials have taken control of final deliberations, struggling to figure out whether a scaled-back version of the project can appease both environmentalists and Alaskan allies. That has pushed the administration to search for a compromise, hoping to curb backlash on a project that conservationists see as an irreversible catastrophe. They added that administration officials are seriously considering shrinking the Arctic project to just two approved drilling pads, a size so small that officials for ConocoPhillips — the company that has spent

ICYMI: Alaskans are United in Support of the Willow Project | U.S. ... (Senator Lisa Murkowski)

WASHINGTON, DC – As the Biden administration prepares to issue its final decision on ConocoPhillips' Willow Project, a crucial energy initiative on Alaska's ...

By working cooperatively with Bureau of Land Management and ConocoPhillips, we have developed the Willow Project into something that will benefit our region while minimizing impacts to the land, animals, and our subsistence lifestyle. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan (both R-AK) joined prominent Iñupiat leaders for an on-the-record media roundtable to discuss the Willow Project and what its reapproval will mean for the North Slope. Our native leaders, the majority of whom are subsistence hunters, strongly support this project and do not believe that it will significantly impact subsistence hunting. This project fulfills the promise that President Biden ran on and touted since entering office.” Its economic benefits to our communities are clear, as is Willow’s ability to coexist with our subsistence traditions. But don’t take our word for it: see below for examples of how Alaskans are coming together to urge the project’s reapproval.

Will the Willow Project be approved and what consequences might ... (Open Access Government)

Biden and his administration have advanced on a decision for the Willow Project, what will the consequences be for our climate?

[Action Network and many others have been campaigning against the proposal](https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-stop-the-willow-project-from-destroying-the-arctic?nowrapper=true&referrer=&source=twitter), stating that “The Willow Project will be devastating for all those that call the Arctic home. Supporters have called the project “balanced and say communities would benefit from taxes generated by it. “Our Native villages are eroding into the sea, thawing permafrost is making infrastructure insecure, and food sources are disappearing,” Itchoak said. Government can produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day, 1.5% of the total U.S. The $8 Billion drilling project known as the Willow project is the proposal to create new oil fields on the Alaskan North Slope. It appears the chances of its approval are on the rise.

What is the Willow Project? The US oil plan explained and why ... (iNews)

A proposed oil development in Alaska is causing uproar in the US, with some campaigners arguing it would disrupt ecosystems. FILE - This 2019 aerial photo ...

According to campaigners, the project will produce nearly 250 million metric tons of CO2 over the next 30 years. Announced in 2017, the project is being run by ConocoPhillips, Alaska’s largest crude oil producer. The petition has been signed by more than 1.2 million people. [In a letter](https://voiceofthearcticinupiat.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Voice-Willow-Letter-FINAL.pdf) addressed to the US Department of Interior, Mr Harcharek wrote of the economic benefits for the community and urged the administration to approve the project and “move as quickly as possible” to begin construction. If it gets the green light from the Biden administration, it will be the biggest oil field in the US in decades, and will be an “economic lifeline” to indigenous communities, say supporters. [Alaska](https://inews.co.uk/news/world/high-altitude-object-shot-down-over-alaska-u-s-says-2143607?ico=in-line_link) that they say will cause irreparable harm to the fragile [Arctic environment](https://inews.co.uk/news/will-there-be-another-beast-from-the-east-in-the-uk-latest-met-office-weather-forecast-and-if-it-will-snow-2181041?ico=in-line_link) and indigenous communities.

The Willow Project: will it happen, petition to stop it, what is Alaska ... (NationalWorld)

The Willow Project: will it happen, petition to stop it, what is Alaska oil plan - will Joe Biden approve it? Approval of the project would be seen to ...

A decision is anticipated to be made within a month, possibly even in the next two weeks. [climate change](/topic/climate-change) as one of his top priorities for his time in office. However, the interior department did not rule out further project reduction recommendations or an outright rejection. There is broad political support for the project in Alaska, including from elected officials and the state’s governor, Republican Mike Dunleavy. ConocoPhillips Alaska is the largest producer of oil and gas in the state, with around 1,000 employees. If approved, the Willow project would use drilling to access petroleum stored on the Alaskan North Slope.

Stop Willow Project Petition Signed by 50k as Alaska Oil Plan ... (Newsweek)

As Joe Biden weighs his approval of a major oil project in the far north, climate activists are calling on the president to uphold his green credentials.

"We need to be more diligent in saving our planet and the environmental habitats that support it." "For the good of our families, our workers, our economy, our environment, and our national security—approve Willow now!" "When are we all going to realize the consequences of our actions?" On Monday, the Alaskan legislature passed a resolution supporting the approval of the project. President Joe Biden now has to weigh up the economic benefits and environmental costs of the project as he considers whether to approve it. ET on Thursday, as climate activists lobby the Biden administration not to give it a green light.

White House eyes concessions for climate advocates to soften the ... (CNN)

The Willow Project, proposed by ConocoPhillips, is a massive and decadeslong oil drilling venture on Alaska's North Slope that the state's lawmakers say will ...

A final decision on the project is expected next week. “When you talk about environmental justice and protecting the environment, us Alaska natives are part of that environment,” Alaska state Rep. Murkowski told CNN that if that happens after a Willow decision is released, “That’s pretty rude, I think.” “We’re asking the president, his Cabinet, all those involved in the decision-making process to keep that in mind.” The Willow project has been under consideration since the Trump administration, which initially planned on approving it with a larger scope. Climate advocates say that as Biden gears up for the 2024 election, a decision to approve Willow could risk alienating a base of young voters. “I do not see one new voter for the Biden administration for approving the largest American oil extraction on public lands.” “Such significant swaths of the coalition that supports him are deeply opposed, and we’re seeing that this is incredibly galvanizing for young people.” Environmental legal group Earthjustice has been preparing a lawsuit against the project if it is approved. Young voters have rallied on social media against the proposal with the hashtag #StopWillow in posts that have amassed tens of millions of views. But environmental groups have remained staunchly opposed to it, fearing the effect of the planet-warming carbon pollution from the hundreds of millions of barrels of oil it would produce. Its supporters say Willow could be a much-needed new source of revenue for the region.