Biden Drills Baby, Drills

Biden's administration just approved the largest oil drilling project on federal land in Alaska's North Slope.  The gullible among you may recall they he came into office promising to end new drilling on federal land. He said on campaign in New Hampshire, "And by the way, no more drilling on federal lands, period. Period, period, period.”  Conoco-Phillips won approval from the BLM for its Willow Project that covers hundreds of acres of the National Petroleum Reserve, which is pristine habitat for geese and caribou. The project is estimated to generate 9.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.  The Reserve represents one of the surest deposits of oil in the nation, that could produce 576-614 million barrels over 30 years, or about enough to satisfy 30 days of consumption.

The Bureau did identify a "preferred alternative" in its final supplemental environmental assessment (SEIS)-- a 550 acre parcel that would avoid caribou migration routes and yellow-billed loon nesting sites. Millions of migrating birds inhabit nearby Teshekpuk Lake [map] Biden has thirty days to make a final decision to allow the project to go forward.  Conoco is in the cat-bird seat in this leasing process, since it already owns two operating well sites in the same area.  The company said in a news release that it could work with the preferred SEIS "E" option with three core drill sites identified in the report, but warned it would abandon the project as uneconomic if the sites are reduced to two.  Apparently the extra 'periods' in his campaign statement are forgotten.  

Conservationists are not satisfied that the administration has worked hard enough against the Willow Project.  Earthjustice, the environmental litigation group, says SEIS option E only reduces the carbon emissions by 3-9% from Conoco's original proposal.  The administration has also promised to cut nationwide emissions in half from 2005 levels by 2030, but rejected criticisms of its support for Willow saying the President has done more for climate change than any other president, while meeting the nation's energy needs.  Alaska's two senators also support drilling the Reserve, along with some members of the local tribes.  The administration has approved more than 6,000 federal gas and oil permits, more than the Trump administration in its first two years.