It’s needed for our state’s economy, and it’s needed to meet global demand.”ĬonocoPhillips announced its Willow discovery in 2017, the same year most Arctic oil watchers were captivated by the congressional decision to open ANWR to oil for the first time in its history.īut Willow, too, could be historic, and might have more legs than proposed development in ANWR. “The renaissance is certainly attainable. “Our federal lands hold a lot of promise,” said Moriarty. “The science is clear that the world can’t afford to develop even a small portion of that oil.įor its part, industry is holding firm, banking on the fact that oil companies can outlast administrations and federal rights to drill are hard to dislodge. “The federal government has an obligation and the authority to restrict oil and gas activity in the reserve to protect other resources, including the climate,” said Jeremy Lieb, a senior attorney for Earthjustice, which is fighting the ConocoPhillips Willow project in court. They also argue the costs of climate change, from disasters like coastal flooding, drought, extreme storms and heat, mount to monstrous expenses that should be considered as much as the price of energy.Īctivists are hoping the climate-focused White House sees things their way and will restrain new projects before companies can punch their holes in the tundra. It would mean pollution in Native communities and a contribution to life-altering climate change in the Arctic, where scientists say warming is occurring at three times the rate of the rest of the globe. Navy’s fleet, which was moving from coal to oil.īut climate activists say finally tapping Harding’s reserve in depth, which is what these projects would do, creates greater costs than those associated with gasoline spikes. After all, it was the desire for a reliable supply of oil that spurred the creation of NPR-A in 1923, when President Harding set aside the reserve as a backup for the U.S. They have pointed to the current high price of gasoline to underscore that drilling from a fat American supply of oil and gas over the long term ensures cheaper energy prices. Oil champions today say that oil is needed. These and other projects have buttressed confidence in the reserve’s growing importance to invigorate Alaska’s oil-dependent coffers - and drive decades of new oil and gas development on federal lands.

estimates 1 billion potential barrels from the same source rock under NPR-A. The even newer Peregrine oil discovery by 88 Energy Ltd. The most significant discovery has been ConocoPhillips Co.’s Willow prospect, a $6 billion investment to produce some 750 million barrels of oil equivalent - if it can get clearance from the Biden administration.Īnd Willow is not alone. Recent oil and gas discoveries in the reserve - located like ANWR on the Arctic Coast - have driven talk of a renaissance for Alaska’s declining North Slope oil fields. The reserve also has pivoted in recent years from a quiet expanse of federal lands with limited oil activity to the new hot spot on the North Slope. The region’s future is under scrutiny with high oil prices and recent efforts by the administration to increase oil supplies. Raising the stakes on what comes next is the oil potential maturing in the NPR-A. As a stopgap, Interior has frozen the sale of new leases in areas opened by the Trump-era plan. Laura Daniel-Davis, principal deputy assistant secretary for land and minerals management, said in a September memo that the plan was “inconsistent” with the Biden administration’s priorities and warranted greater attention.īut she also made it clear that the administration has yet to decide whether to revoke the old management plan. It also carved into special protections around the Teshekpuk Lake, a coastal wetland treasured for its beauty, rich avian life and herds of caribou. President Biden moved quickly in calling for a review of NPR-A’s management plan, called an “integrated activity plan.” Penned with guidance from pro-oil Alaskans during the Trump administration, it expanded oil’s potential for leasing to 82 percent of the reserve, up from 52 percent previously. “Policies out of the gate, you know, have been a little bit mixed,” said Kara Moriarty, president of the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. Yet industry and greens agree on one aspect of NPR-A’s future: They don’t know what to make of the White House’s strategy.

Denver pikka