US President Joe Biden approved this Monday, March 13, 2023, a major oil and gas drilling project in Alaska that faced strong opposition from environmental activists. Learn about the controversial proposal, its disadvantages and its impacts here.
What is the Willow project? US government approves oil and gas development in Alaska
The Willow Project: US President Joe Biden approved this Monday, March 13, 2023, a major oil and gas drilling project in Alaska that faced strong opposition from environmental activists.
According to ConocoPhillips, the company behind the Willow project, this project aims to generate local investment and thousands of jobs.
The $8bn (£6.6bn) project faced a cascade of online activism, particularly among young activists on TikTok.
Let’s learn more about this proposal.
What is the Willow Project?
- The Willow Project is a ConocoPhillips oil development project.
- It is located on the coastal plain of the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve.
- The proposal originally was to build and operate up to five drilling platforms for a total of 250 oil wells.
- Associated infrastructure includes access and field roads.
-landing strips
-pipelines
-a gravel mine
-and a temporary island.
- All of these components will facilitate delivery of the module via ocean shipping barges on permafrost lands and within waters managed by the state of Alaska.
Project Willow: Timeline
|
TIME |
EVENT |
|
2016 |
Oil was discovered in the Willow prospect area west of Alpine, Alaska. |
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2020 |
In October, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow development project in its Record of Decision. |
|
2021 |
Judicial recusal |
|
2023 |
The BLM issued its final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) in February. |
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2023 |
On March 13, President Biden approved the project. |
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Cons of Project Willow
- The Willow project can produce up to 600 million barrels of oil and 287 million tons of carbon emissions, as well as other greenhouse gases.
- The project could negatively impact Arctic wildlife and the Native American communities of Nuiqsut, Utqiaġvik, Anaktuvuk Pass, Atqasuk, Point Lay and Wainwright.
Project Willow: details about the decision
- Under Biden’s plan, there would initially be three drilling sites and about 219 wells in total.
- The company has said that it considers that option to be viable.
- ConocoPhillips will reportedly relinquish rights to approximately 68,000 acres of existing leases in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve.
- The administration’s decision comes after the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, as part of an environmental review, in February advanced a development option that called for up to three drilling sites initially, which it said would include about of 219 wells in total. ConocoPhillips Alaska said it considered that option viable.
- Alaska’s Republican U.S. senators warned that any additional limitations could kill the project, making it uneconomic.
What do climate activists have to say?
Members of Alaska Native communities traveled thousands of miles to the White House to make their voices heard, calling for @POTUS to #StopWillow — a massive oil drilling proposal for Alaska’s North Slope.
Listen to their testimonies: pic.twitter.com/RiB8Yx5mSW
— Molly Morabito 🌅 (@morabito_molly)
March 8, 2023
- Environmental activists across social media have promoted a #StopWillow campaign. They seek to remind Biden of his promises to reduce planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions and promote clean energy.
- Climate activists have been outraged that Biden appeared willing to greenlight the project, which they said put Biden’s climate legacy at risk.
Impact of Project Willow
- ConocoPhillips Alaska’s Willow project could produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day, create up to 2,500 jobs during construction and 300 long-term jobs, and generate billions of dollars in royalties and tax revenue for federal, state and federal governments. and local, the company says.
- The project is located in the federally designated Alaska National Petroleum Reserve and enjoys broad political support in the state.
- Alaska Native state lawmakers recently met with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland to urge support for Willow.
- According to estimates from the US Bureau of Land Management, that means it will generate up to 278 million metric tons of CO2e over its 30-year lifespan, the equivalent of adding two million cars to US roads. . every year.
- CO2e is a unit used to express the climate impact of all greenhouse gases together as if they were all emitted as carbon dioxide.
Bottom line
Monday’s announcement will allow only three drilling sites for the project instead of the five initially proposed. The approval also comes a day after the Biden administration imposed limits on oil and gas drilling in 16 million acres of Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
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Source: ptivs2.edu.vn