ConocoPhillips (COP.N), a multinational oil company based in the United States, awarded its $8 billion Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska to proceed financially on Friday.
According to the Chief Executive Officer, Ryan Lance, “We have begun winter construction with this project authorization.”
In November, environmental and indigenous organizations filed a petition with a federal court in Alaska, requesting that the business be temporarily prevented from moving forward with building the project in the Arctic region of the state. They said that a stay is required to prevent the immediate occurrence of cultural and environmental harm.
The Willow project area is anticipated to have 600 million barrels of oil, and ConocoPhillips has said that the project would produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day when it is operating at its maximum capacity.
Officials in Alaska have expressed their support for the project’s construction, expecting that it will assist in compensating for the decreased oil output in the state, which is primarily dependent on the oil and gas sector.
The Willow project has faced various regulatory and environmental considerations and is familiar with large-scale energy projects in sensitive ecological areas. However, ConocoPhillips has been working on addressing these concerns to advance the project.
