The Biden administration on has released a draft supplemental environmental review of ConocoPhillips’ giant oil prospect on Alaska’s North Slope, known as the Willow project, after a federal judge last year rejected approval for the project issued during the Trump administration.
The announcement Friday drew immediate condemnation from environmental groups, saying advancing the project is contrary to the president’s stated goals to address climate change. Alaska’s political leaders have pressed the Biden administration to move the project forward, given the project’s potential in terms of oil production, jobs and revenues for the state.
The environmental review is a step in ConocoPhillips’ efforts to develop the field, though the new, eight-volume report provides a range of development alternatives for the public to consider before the Biden administration can make a final decision on whether to approve the project.
