Fox News, The New York Times, and The Washington Post are all in agreement on Sunday — the Biden Administration will approve the ConocoPhillips Willow project on Monday, but there is a trick: It could be the last oil development allowed in Alaska’s Arctic.
The new groups cite sources in the Biden Administration who say the president will take away the rest of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, which has 13 million acres that was set aside by the federal government for oil and gas development.
News of the decision was leaked to Bloomberg on Friday, setting off a wave of speculation, environmentalist protest, and cautious optimism.
But on Friday, Biden’s Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre apparently lied to the press, when she responded to a question about Willow and said the decision had not yet been made. “Anyone who says there has been a final decision is wrong,” she said.
Willow, which could during its peak production provide 180,000 barrels per day to the Trans Alaska Pipeline System, will be the last in the Arctic, according to these sources, as the Administration puts up a “firewall” to block future leases on the North Slope and other rules for the NPR-A, where Willow is located.
Soft announcements like this one, which come with a Friday evening news leak, an official denial, and then further corroboration over the weekend with more detail, are standard practice for softening a decision that has consequences either way.
But while environmentalists are sure to be upset with the decision — and they are — Alaska is likely to take a hard economic hit from the Biden Administration as he says “no more oil” to the richest oil fields in America.
“It’s insulting that Biden thinks this will change our minds about the Willow project,” said Kristen Monsell, a senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Protecting one area of the Arctic so you can destroy another doesn’t make sense, and it won’t help the people and wildlife who will be upended by the Willow project. We need to protect the entire Arctic and stop building massive oil and gas developments that will contribute to greenhouse gas emissions for years to come.”
On Friday, TikToks posts with #StopWillow hashtags rose to the the Chinese-owned social media site’s top 10 trending topics, as environmentalists made one last push.
In Alaska, the news was met with caution.
“If this is true, it’s short-term gain for longterm pain for Alaska,” said Rick Whitbeck, Alaska director for Power the Future, a pro-energy group.
