Biden Administration Approves Willow Oil-Drilling Project in Alaskan Arctic

ConocoPhillips expects the project to produce about 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak.

The Biden administration approved the massive Willow oil-drilling project in the Alaskan Arctic over the objections of environmentalists and many Democrats who wanted the project scuttled.

The green light means Houston-based ConocoPhillips can start construction on its roughly $7 billion project in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, which the company expects will produce about 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak—equivalent to about 40% of Alaska’s current crude production.

The Interior Department said it would allow drilling on three of the five drill sites proposed by ConocoPhillips, which announced the Willow discovery in 2017.

The discovery pitted environmental groups denouncing the project as a carbon bomb that would hamper President Biden’s campaign goals to phase out fossil fuels against supporters who argued that the project would generate jobs and revenue for Alaska. Opposition to the project resulted in years of litigation and thousands of pages of environmental analysis by the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management.

Ryan Lance, the chief executive of ConocoPhillips, said it “was the right decision for Alaska and our nation.”

Environmentalists denounced the approval, saying that greenhouse-gas emissions from the project contradicted Mr. Biden’s vow to fight climate change, would cause harm to Alaskans and leave residents contending with the effects of drilling operations.

With the decision widely expected, the administration on Sunday took steps to quell criticism and demonstrate its environmental commitment, announcing a plan to block future oil and gas leasing in the Arctic Ocean’s federal waters.

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