Alaska's proposed ConocoPhillips oil development project, known as Willow, is at the center of a last-minute lobbying frenzy as its approval is seen as a test of President Joe Biden's commitment to combatting climate change. The $8 billion project aims to drill from three locations, and its final decision could be issued by the Interior Department as early as Monday.
Alaska's congressional delegation, including freshman Democratic Representative Mary Peltola, made a personal appeal to President Biden in the Oval Office for the project's authorization. They argued that the project, which is expected to yield 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day, or about 1.6% of current US production, is critical for Alaska's future and the nation's energy transition.
While the project has received support from labor unions and some indigenous groups in Alaska, residents of the village of Nuiqsut have raised concerns about its impact. They argue that their concerns have been drowned out by the oil industry's corporate power, and that the project's proposed mitigations are insufficient and tantamount to "payoffs for the loss of our health and culture."
Environmental advocates and lawmakers have also been outlining legal options for the Biden administration to deny the project. Some have argued that the government could reject the project without breaching the terms of the company's leases in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, while others have highlighted legal authority for the Interior Department to block proposed drilling if it could have "significantly adverse effects" on the area's surface resources.
The Willow project presents a significant climate and energy decision for President Biden, who has campaigned on a pledge to block new drilling on public lands and transition away from fossil fuels. As the Interior Department prepares to make its final decision on the project, it remains to be seen how Biden will balance his climate commitments with the concerns of Alaska's congressional delegation and its labor unions and indigenous groups.
