Biden Endorses Alaska Oil Drilling Bill

US President Joe Biden this Monday (13.Mar.2023) approved an $8 billion oil and gas project in Alaska. Here is the full Conclusion (43 KB, in English).

Called Willow, it is the US company’s drilling venture Conocophillips Held in the US state’s National Petroleum Reserve in the North Slope District. This region is the largest virgin land in the country.

According to a statement by ConocoPhillips, the project could produce a maximum of 180,000 barrels of oil per day. “Reducing America’s Dependence on Foreign Energy Supplies”.

Additionally, it is expected to generate between $8 billion and $17 billion in federal and state government revenue and 2,500 jobs. Here it is Full (123 KB, in English).

However, Biden’s administration did not approve the company’s original plan. Instead of 5 extraction wells, it approved only 3 wells. The move also establishes that ConocoPhillips will return to the government about 68,000 hectares leased in the region. There is no word yet on when the operations will begin.

According to Report of the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land ManagementBurning all the oil to be produced would release nearly 280 million metric tons of carbon emissions into the atmosphere.

Annually, 9.2 million metric tons of carbon pollution – the equivalent of adding nearly 2 million cars to US roads each year. Here it is Full (7 MB, in English).

America is the 2nd most polluting country after China. It emits nearly 5.6 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.