Biden administration to approve major Alaska oil drilling project Willow
Ella Nilsen
By Ella Nilsen, CNN
Updated 8:14 PM EST, Fri March 10, 2023
CNN —
The Biden administration is soon set to approve ConocoPhillips’ Willow Project, a major oil drilling project on Alaska’s North Slope, according to a congressional source familiar with the details. The decision will be announced next week, the source confirmed.
The expected approval is a victory for Alaska’s bipartisan congressional delegation and a coalition of Alaska Native tribes and groups who hailed the drilling venture as a much-needed new source of revenue and jobs for the remote region. It is a major blow to climate groups and Alaska Natives who oppose Willow, arguing the project will hurt the president’s ambitious climate goals and pose health and environmental risks.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back Friday, saying no final decision on the project had been made, and that the US Department of the Interior would make an “independent decision on the Willow Project.”
“No final decisions have been made – anyone who says there has been a final decision is wrong,” Jean-Pierre said. “President Biden is delivering on the most aggressive climate agenda of any US president in history and spurring an unprecedented expansion of clean energy.”
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https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/10/politics/alaska-oil-willow-drilling-project-white-house/index.html
