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Biden administration to approve controversial Alaskan oil project
Climate activists hold a demonstration to urge President Joe Biden to reject the Willow project at the Interior Department, Nov. 17, 2022, in Washington, D.C. | Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Sunrise AU)
The Biden administration will approve the massive Willow oil project in Alaska in an official release later on Monday, according to a source familiar with the decision, rejecting pleas from environmental groups and some nearby tribal communities to block the development they fear will threaten the pristine wilderness and undermine the president’s promises to fight climate change.
The decision will allow ConocoPhillips to develop three drilling sites at its proposed Willow project on federal land in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the person said. That is smaller than what Conoco had originally requested, but the company has said that would be large enough to allow the project to proceed. A formal announcement is expected at 6 a.m. Alaska time, a second person familiar with the plan said.
The move by the Interior Department represents the latest concession by President Joe Biden to the oil and gas industry and Republican critics who have blamed his climate and energy policies for last year’s spike in gasoline prices after the Russian invasion of Ukraine sent crude prices soaring.
