The United States is contemplating a new big project, this time in Alaska. In general, oil extraction is related to many environmental problems. Such activity damages the surrounding area and, in most cases, makes it uninhabitable. That is why the authorities must be cautious and anticipate all possible results before approving new drilling.
However, it appears this project ticks all the boxes, as President Joe Biden’s administration plans to give it the green light on Monday. This project is a major and controversial oil drilling effort in Alaska.
In the first phase, the responsible company will start with three drill sites in northwestern Alaska.
On Sunday, the US president spoke about drastic restrictions on oil and gas leasing, however, he stressed the importance of protecting approximately 16 million acres of land and water in the region. When companies start drilling for oil, it often mixes with water, killing plants and animals. While humans usually move out of territory beforehand, sometimes the damage is so massive that it reaches more settlements, forcing people to relocate.
Is the Willow project different?
ConocoPhillips is taking the reins on the new Willow project. According to the company, they will begin drilling within the Alaska National Petroleum Reserve. The latter is an area of 23 million acres (93 million hectares) located on the north slope of the state. Until now, it has been the largest tract of public land in the United States.
The company first presented the Willow project in January 2017. It expects to produce approximately 600 million barrels of oil. That means ConocoPhillips will earn 180,000 barrels of oil per day. The US Department of the Interior declared that 3 million acres of the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean would be “indefinitely off limits” for oil and gas leasing, thus prohibiting all oil drilling activities in US Arctic waters
On Sunday, the administration stated that the government plans to add more protections for an additional 13 million acres of special areas within the Alaskan oil reserve that are “ecologically sensitive.”
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