There are multiple exploration and development projects within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Willow project, including other discoveries being pursued by ConocoPhillips Alaska, the largest oil producer in the state. The Biden administration in 2022 limited oil and gas leasing to just over half the reserve, which is home to polar bears, caribou, millions of migratory birds and other wildlife. The Willow project is in the northeast portion of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, where there has been debate over how much of the region should be available for oil and gas development. To prevent the worst of climate change’s future harms - including even more extreme weather - the head of the United Nations recently called for an end to new fossil fuel exploration and for rich countries to quit coal, oil and gas by 2040. One of the suits, filed by Earthjustice on behalf of numerous environmental groups, says the government analyzed an inadequate range of alternatives “based on the mistaken conclusion that it must allow ConocoPhillips to fully develop its leases.” It also says the environmental review underlying Willow’s approval didn’t assess the full climate consequences of authorizing the project because it didn’t analyze greenhouse gas emissions from other projects in the region that could follow. 1, 2029, and that the company risks having its leases expire if the unit hasn’t produced oil by then. Bureau of Land Management failed to consider an adequate range of alternatives.Ī ConocoPhillips Alaska executive, Stephen Bross, in court documents warned that an order blocking construction could make it “impossible” for the project to begin production by Sept. In separate lawsuits, the groups ultimately want Gleason to overturn the project’s approval, saying the U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason in Anchorage refused requests by environmental groups and an Alaska Native organization to delay construction related to Willow. The decision means ConocoPhillips Alaska can forge ahead with cold-weather construction work, including mining gravel and using it to extend a road toward the Willow project. Construction can proceed related to a major oil project on Alaska’s petroleum-rich North Slope after a federal judge on Monday rejected requests to halt work until challenges to the Biden administration’s recent approval are resolved.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |