ConocoPhillips to Develop Alaska-Based Willow Project Following Biden Administration Approval

By Sabela Ojea

ConocoPhillips approved the development of the Willow project in Alaska and the construction funds needed to reach oil.

The Houston-based explorer, developer and producer of crude oil and natural gas on Friday said that the decision comes after the U.S. Department of Interior approved the $7 billion oil-drilling project in the Alaskan Artic.

When completed, Willow is expected to produce about 600 million barrels across the lifetime of the project.

In March, the Biden administration said it would allow drilling on three of the five drill sites proposed by ConocoPhillips, which announced the Willow discovery in 2017.

Reducing the project's footprint to three drilling sites allows Interior to protect migratory routes for the Teshekpuk Lake caribou herd, an important source of subsistence for nearby Alaska Native communities, while respecting the constraints of decades-old leases held by ConocoPhillips, the department said.

The project went through five years of regulatory review and environmental scrutiny.

Write to Sabela Ojea at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

12-22-23 1705ET