“Harmful Effects”
US government gives go-ahead for oil drilling in Alaska
03/13/2023, 7:25 p.m
Proponents say the billion-euro project will create thousands of jobs and contribute to America’s energy independence. However, critics see major environmental damage with “decades-long” effects in the oil production project in northern Alaska – Biden did not keep his promise.
The US government has approved a controversial oil exploration project in northern Alaska, despite clear criticism from environmentalists. The Interior Department gave the US energy company ConocoPhillips the green light to drill for oil at three locations in the federally owned National Petroleum Reserve Alaska (NPRA). US President Joe Biden vowed during the 2020 presidential campaign that he would not allow any new oil and gas exploration on federally owned land during his second term. However, Alaskan lawmakers and other supporters of the so-called Willow Project had been pushing for government approval.
The billion-euro project will bring thousands of jobs and contribute to the energy independence of the United States, it was said in justification. ConocoPhillips is expected to produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day from the new wells. CEO Ryan Lance hailed the Interior Department’s decision as “the right decision for Alaska and our nation.”
Abigail Dillen of the environmental organization Earth Justice, however, criticized that the new project “directly undermines the new clean economy that the Biden administration has promised to bring forward”. The decision will defeat the US President’s climate goals, she added. Sierra Club’s Ben Jealous said the decision’s “harmful effects” “cannot be overemphasized”. The consequences would be felt for “decades”.
The Willow project approval came a day after the US government restricted oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Ocean and banned development of 5.26 million hectares of land in the NPRA area. The move is seen as compensation for the Willow Project’s approval and protects an area that is home to grizzly and polar bears, as well as caribou and hundreds of thousands of migratory birds.