Page 10 - NorthAmOil Week 14 2023

NorthAmOil PROJECTS & COMPANIES NorthAmOil

Judge rejects injunction against

ConocoPhillips’ Willow

ALASKA A federal judge has rejected a bid to halt con- cold-weather work. The company has already
struction at ConocoPhillips’ Willow project on started building the project’s ice road but agreed to
the North Slope of Alaska. pause gravel mining and road building while the
The administration of US President Joe Biden judge considered the lawsuits against the project.
approved a scaled-back version of the $8bn pro- On the North Slope, major construction
ject in March. It is expected to produce 600mn occurs in the winter when the permafrost is fro-
barrels of oil over a lifespan of 30 years. zen. The construction season normally ends on
Two lawsuits were quickly filed seeking to end April 25, only three weeks after the judge’s deci-
the project over concerns that its greenhouse gas sion was issued.
(GHG) emissions would be too high. Plaintiffs ConocoPhillips said it would immediately start
– comprising environmental and conservation construction activities such as development of a
groups – said the government had not con- gravel site, construction of a gravel road and a boat
ducted adequate due diligence in considering launch for local subsistence hunters and herders.
alternatives. The approvals for Willow give the company
Critics of the project have called it a “carbon permission to construct three drill pads, 25.8
bomb”. miles (41.5 km) of gravel roads, an air strip and
In her decision, US District Court Judge hundreds of miles of ice roads.
Sharon Gleason cited support for the project by However, opponents of the project are unde-
bipartisan Alaska political leaders. She also cited terred and will continue their attempts to halt it.
support for Willow by Alaska Native local and “Regardless of this winter’s activities, the
regional corporations and the North Slope Bor- lawsuit is not over. The fight will continue, using
ough, although she admitted that support among every legal tool available, with the hope of pre-
Alaska Natives was not unanimous. venting harm to the Western Arctic,” said Earth-
ConocoPhillips can now proceed with justice, an environmental group.™

KBR wins LoI for Bay du Nord FEED contract

NEWFOUNDLAND KBR Industrial Canada has received a letter of said that Bay du Nord would produce less than
AND LABRADOR intent (LoI) from Equinor Canada for the front- 8kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) per barrel of crude,
end engineering design (FEED) of the topside which it said is less than half the global average.
facilities for the proposed offshore Bay Du Nord Bay du Nord will use an onboard combined
project. cycle power system and the also latest technol-
The project entails a $9bn floating produc- ogy to minimise the number of crew onboard
tion, storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, and maximise digital solutions.
which will be located off Newfoundland and All these elements will minimise carbon
Labrador in Eastern Canada. emissions, said KBR.
KBR Industrial Canada is a subsidiary of KBR will execute the work scope jointly with
Houston-based KBR. Canadian sub-contractor Hatch, a multidisci-
The agreement includes an option for contin- plinary engineering, project management and
uation of detailed design and procurement man- professional services firm with a local office in
agement services until the FPSO is completed. St. John’s.
The FEED scope follows the pre-FEED engi- This will provide Equinor with an integrated
neering carried out by KBR and Aker Solutions in team across Canada and in London, said KBR.
2022 and will advance the planning of engineer- The Bay du Nord project is expected to pro-
ing and execution. Indeed, Aker had been con- duce about 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) of
sidered the frontrunner for the FEED contract. oil from the Flemish Pass Basin. Bay du Nord
A final investment decision (FID) on Bay is notably remote, at 500 km off the coast of
du Nord is now likely later this year or in 2024, Newfoundland and Labrador in international
with first production of oil anticipated in the late waters.
2020s, said Equinor. Canada would have to pay the United Nations
During the FEED, KBR will continue to help royalties, a first globally and proof of how attrac-
Equinor develop what the Norwegian oil com- tive certain offshore prospects have become.
pany has described as one of the lowest-car- The project’s reserves are estimated at 407mn
bon-emitting FPSOs in the world. Equinor has barrels of oil.™

P10 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 14 06•April•2023