Willow Project: US President Joe Biden approves controversial Alaska oil and gas drilling plans
- Published
The drilling project, on Alaska's remote North Slope, is the largest oil project in the region for many years
US President Joe Biden has given the go-ahead for a huge controversial oil and gas drilling project in Alaska, the most northerly state in America.
The approved plans for the so-called Willow Project, will result in the production of nearly 600 million barrels of oil over the next 30 years.
ConocoPhillips - the company behind the project - and Alaska's lawmakers say that it will bring jobs to the region.
But there has been strong opposition from environmental groups and some local communities who say that it will impact the climate and wildlife as well as damage the environment.
What's happened?
The US state of Alaska is an area rich in oil and gas
The Willow Project will be one of the largest of its kind on American soil, involving drilling inside the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, a huge 23 million-acre site in the state.
The area is owned by the government and is is the largest area of wild, undisturbed public land in the US.
ConocoPhillips, the oil producer who proposed the plans, estimates that at its peak the drilling will produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day - or an estimated 578 million barrels over the life of the project, in its present form.
What do supporters of the Willow Project say?
ConocoPhillips is one of the biggest oil producers in the USA
ConocoPhillips has said the project will bring £14 billion in earnings for federal and state governments and local communities.
The company also says the construction would create 2,000 jobs.
After the news was announced, ConocoPhillips boss Ryan Lance said: "This was the right decision for Alaska and our nation."
Some indigenous leaders had also expressed support for the project.
Why do some people think the Willow Project is a bad idea?
Activists called for the Willow project to be halted over its climate and wildlife impacts
Environmental groups say that the project goes against Biden's promise to fight climate change.
The Sierra Group, a US environmental organisation said: "It's the wrong move and will be a disaster for wildlife, lands, communities, and our climate."
Two years ago, President Biden had put in place a new aim to reduce emissions by 50-52 per cent from 2005 levels by 2030.
There have also been a huge surge of anti-Willow videos posted on TikTok recently, which have received tens of millions of views.
More than one million letters of protest were also written to the White House, and an online petition calling for Willow to be halted drew more than three million signatures.
There has also been opposition from other indigenous groups.
Siqiniq Maupin, executive director of the Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic, said the project would have a devastating impact on communities and would worsen climate change.
The Nuiqsut community, which lives closest to where the development would take place, have also expressed concern that the work would disturb the caribou - also known as reindeer - that the villagers rely on for food and that the pollution could affect their health.
