Page 5 - NorthAmOil Week 22 2021

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

the project. It also noted that development 8bn of barrels of oil, and Alaska’s political lead-
would take place on “valid leases” within the ers have been seeking to allow drilling in the
NPR-A. area, which constitutes about 8% of the refuge.
Willow is expected to produce up to 160,000 They argue that development could help boost
barrels per day (bpd) of oil from up to five jobs and revenue in the state, as well as helping
drilling sites. Developing it will also require to keep oil flowing through the Trans-Alaska
construction of hundreds of miles of pipelines Pipeline System (TAPS).
and ice roads, an airstrip and a gravel mine However, Biden has set out to make the
site, among other infrastructure. In February, ANWR off-limits to oil drilling from the start.
the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an Upon taking office, he immediately placed a
emergency order blocking ConocoPhillips temporary moratorium on oil and gas lease
from starting work on a gravel mine site and activities in the refuge, as well as ordering a
road, after opponents raised their concerns review of the leases approved by his predeces-
over the environmental impact of the work in sor’s administration.
the court. Following the review, the DoI said it had
The parties involved in the court case have “identified defects in the underlying record of
agreed to an expedited timeline for resolving decision supporting the leases, including the
dispute, which could allow ConocoPhillips to lack of analysis of a reasonable range of alterna-
resume work on Willow in the winter. The com- tives” required under the National Environmen-
pany had been targeting a start-up date of 2024 tal Policy Act. A more comprehensive review of
for the project but the Ninth Circuit Court’s the leasing programme will now be carried out,
order has caused a delay of at least a year. while nine leases sold by the Trump administra-
US Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski said tion will be suspended.
this week that while her state had got off to a “The department is notifying lessees that it is
“rough start” with the Biden administration, suspending oil and gas leases in the Arctic Ref- Alaska’s
the latter had taken the right step with the court uge, pending the review, to determine whether
filing. the leases should be reaffirmed, voided or sub- congressional
ConocoPhillips also welcomed the DoJ’s ject to additional mitigation measures,” the DoI delegation
position on supporting the previous review for said this week.
Willow, which had lasted more than two years. Just two oil companies and an Alaska eco- has said it will
“We believe that review satisfies the legal nomic development corporation participated in
requirements,” a ConocoPhillips spokeswoman, buying the right to explore for oil and gas in the continue working
Rebecca Boys, was quoted by Anchorage Daily ANWR during that auction, which was held in
News as saying. However, the company was January. Given that the incoming Biden admin- to persuade
unable to comment further given still pending istration had set its sights on reversing moves Biden of the
litigation. to open the refuge to drilling, the low level of
participation was unsurprising. importance of
Protecting the ANWR However, Alaska’s congressional delegation
The case of the 19mn-acre (76,890-square km) has said it will continue working to persuade drilling in the
ANWR is different, though, given its role. The Biden of the importance of drilling in the ref-
region is home to a variety of wildlife, and oppo- uge to the state’s economy. And US Senator for refuge.
nents of oil and gas development there have long Alaska Dan Sullivan told media that the Biden
sought to emphasise that it is one of the US’ last administration had an “enormously high legal
truly wild places. bar” to meet when it came to halting drilling in
But the US Geological Survey (USGS) esti- the refuge altogether. It seems, nonetheless, that
mates that the ANWR’s coastal plain could hold Biden will try to do just that.™

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