North Slope work on the Willow project that’s currently operated by ConocoPhillips was instructed to stop, according to what the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Saturday.
Jobs were expected to be created for the Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, something Rep. Ron Gilham said shouldn’t have stopped, “In early 2017 ConocoPhillips announced a significant oil discovery named Willow in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska or the NPRA. Last October, the previous administration gave its stamp of approval on the project. Now, unfortunately, following the lawsuit by outside special interest groups, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has halted winter work at the site, effectively shutting it down for at least the rest of the year and perhaps for good. They have stopped winter road construction, gravel mining and blasting for the project. Activities that employ people in our state. Furthermore, development of Willow would generate hundreds of direct jobs and thousands of construction jobs that produce substantial revenue for federal government, state of Alaska, North Slope Borough and communities in the NPRA.”
Gilham explained Willow’s financial impact to Alaska’s economy, “It is estimated that ConocoPhillips was to spend approximately 2 to 3 billion dollars to develop Willow and had planned to break ground earlier this month. If developed, the field could product 600 million barrels of oil over 30 years boosting state revenues and jobs in Alaska, both desperately needed but are in real jeopardy of being permanently closed for business.”
The District 30 Representative said the state’s economy needs to be made a priority, “Alaska, just this year, has taken two major hits in two major sectors of our economy, the oil industry and tourism while we’re already suffering economically with business closures and job losses due to the pandemic. For years we have tried to operate under the ‘Alaska is open for business’ slogan. We have been hard hit by the unexpected pandemic and now have damage to our economy from outside forces. Alaska is not one big national park, but that seems to be what groups are intent on making it. We are people, individuals, employers, employees and families and more than ever we need a strong economy in our state. Alaska needs to be open for business.”
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said that development at Willow needs to stop as the oil giant and environmental groups battle it out in court to determine if the work can continue. ConocoPhillips reportedly will make a decision later this year on if it will pay up to billions of dollars for Willow to start developing oil for production.
Rep. Gilham made those comments at the end of a House Floor Session on Friday, February 15. Transcribed audio courtesy of KTOO 360TV.
