Mixed reaction to Willow decision

(The Center Square) – Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy praised the Biden administration’s approval to drill in Alaska’s North Slope but said a plan to block drilling on millions of acres in the state is “disgraceful.”

The Department of Interior announced Monday it would allow three drilling sites on the land owned by ConocoPhillips. Known as the Willow Project, it could generate up to 180,000 barrels of oil a day and bring in $8 billion in revenue, according to information from Dunleavy’s office. About 2,500 jobs would be created during construction, with 300 permanent jobs expected once construction is complete.

The excitement over the project’s approval was dimmed by the Biden administration’s plan announced over the weekend to block oil and gas production in National Petroleum Reserve – Alaska and the Arctic Ocean near the reserve, Dunleavy said.

“Taking future oil production in Alaska off the map won’t decrease global oil consumption,” Dunleavy said in a statement. “It will just shift the market and give leverage to producers in countries that don’t have our high standards for the environment and human rights. In the end, every American pays the price when President Biden restricts our ability to develop our own energy resources.”

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan said the decision was a victory, but the fight to unleash the state’s energy reserves is not over.

“The fact that this Willow ROD comes with the announcement of future legally-dubious resource development restrictions on Alaska lands and waters is infuriating and demonstrates that the Biden Administration’s unprecedented lock-up of our state will continue, Sullivan said in a statement. “With the Willow ROD issued today, we are prepared to defend this decision against likely frivolous legal challenges from the same Lower 48 NGOs who’ve consistently tried to kill the Willow Project. We will do so by working closely with the same Alaska stakeholders who brought us this far. We hope that the Alaska federal judge taking this case hears and respects their voices.”

Not everyone was happy about the decision. Christy Goldfuss, chief policy impact officer at the Natural Resources Defense Council, called the decision a “grievous mistake.”

“It green-lights a carbon bomb, sets back the climate fight and emboldens an industry hell-bent on destroying the planet,” Goldfuss said in a statement. “It’s wrong on climate and wrong for the country. Willow is a project out of time. With science demanding an end to fossil fuels, this locks in decades more dependence on oil.”

ConocoPhillips is expected to begin work on gravel road construction, the company said in a news release.

“This was the right decision for Alaska and our nation,” said Ryan Lance, ConocoPhillips chairman and chief executive officer. “Willow fits within 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.”