US approves controversial Willow oil drilling project in Alaska

On March 13, the US government approved an $8 billion oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope. The project, known as the Willow Project, is led by oil giant ConocoPhillips. This gives him the go-ahead for one of the largest oil developments ever built on U.S. federal land, giving him the go-ahead for decades at Alaska’s national oil reserves, an important habitat for caribou and migratory birds. Doors open to drilling across

The decision will allow the construction of three drilling pads and hundreds of miles of roads, pipelines, runways, gravel pits and processing facilities in what is now tundra and wetlands. The plan involves permafrost excavation, and the ground must be refrozen through a system of cooling tubes to maintain the stability of the freeze and the equipment itself.

The three approved drilling sites are capable of producing 180,000 barrels of oil per day. This corresponds to approximately 1.5% of US oil production. Critics warn the project will accelerate the climate crisis. The US government’s own estimate is that it will produce 9.2 million tons of carbon pollution annually. That’s equivalent to 2 million gasoline cars. External estimates put it closer to 260 million tonnes, equivalent to operating about 70 coal-fired power plants a year.

The project has been hotly debated, but local Alaska Native communities are opposing it, arguing that existing oil and gas development has already compromised health and food security. We are at zero point of industrialization in the area,” said an open letter written by residents of Nuyquist, a town 56 kilometers from the approved drilling site. This region is warming two to four times faster than the rest of the planet. “No dollar can replace what we risk.”

In February, following a lengthy environmental survey, the US Bureau of Land Management identified three drilling sites instead of the five that ConocoPhillips had originally hoped. However, the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees the agency, issued a separate statement expressing “serious concerns” about the project. This is a highly unusual measure. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland declined to comment on Willow, but said in his recent interview that “public lands belong to all Americans, not just one industry.” .

“Government agencies claim they have approved small, low-impact projects. “Interiors’ decision to grant ConocoPhillips permits for its oil and gas projects once again shows how government agencies and corporate interests ignore the costs of industrialization to land, water, animals and people. “

“The true price to pay for the Willow Project is the land and the animals and people forced to breathe polluted air and drink polluted water,” writes Sovereign Inupiat for the Living Arctic. increase. For decades, the National Audubon Society has recognized the importance of the Willow Project area to millions of migratory birds, including the endangered spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri) and other vulnerable birds. It is also where the region’s caribou herds calve (range fencing), whose population has recently declined significantly. Excavation disrupts this habitat, increasing noise, air pollution and human traffic. Last March, 500 people were forced to evacuate Nuiksto after methane gas was released from another ConocoPhillips drilling site.

While running for president, Joe Biden vowed to ban all “new oil and gas permits on public lands and waters” to meet climate change goals. Activists highlight the promises of these campaigns and the commitments of the Paris Agreement in the #StopWillow online campaign.

On March 12, the Biden administration announced that the United States would provide protection to the Arctic Ocean and other areas of the reserve. Conservation groups such as The Wilderness Society called these measures “welcome news” but added, “We regret that the very unfortunate decision to approve the Willow project has been taken so quickly. ‘ added.