Project Willow is an estimated $8 billion large-scale oil drilling venture located in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) on the state’s North Slope. Developed by ConocoPhillips, the project officially received its Final Investment Decision (FID) and funding approval after navigating extensive environmental reviews and securing federal approval from the Biden administration in March 2023. Designed to produce up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day at peak capacity, the massive infrastructure development will include a central processing facility, multiple drill pads, pipelines, and gravel roads. Expected to yield approximately 600 million barrels over its 30-year lifespan, the project targets first oil by 2029 and is projected to create 2,500 construction jobs while generating billions in federal, state, and local revenue — a jobs-and-revenue playbook not unlike the one behind Frontieras’ $850 million coal conversion facility breaking ground in Mason County.
Project Overview
Type: Onshore oil and gas exploration and production development
Location: National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A), North Slope, Alaska, USA
Total Project Cost: Estimated US$8 billion
Production Capacity: Up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day (BOPD) at peak production
Total Estimated Yield: Approximately 600 million barrels over a 30-year operational life
Key Infrastructure: A central processing facility, an operations center, three approved drill pads (reduced from the originally proposed five to minimize environmental footprint), pipelines, and gravel roads
Federal Approval: Granted by the U.S. Department of the Interior in March 2023
Target First Oil: 2029
Economic Impact: Expected to generate between $8 billion and $17 billion in new revenue for the federal government, the state of Alaska, and North Slope Borough communities
Job Creation: Approximately 2,500 direct construction jobs and 300 permanent operational roles
Project Team
Owner/Developer: ConocoPhillips (via ConocoPhillips Alaska)
Lead Permitting & Oversight Agency: U.S. Department of the Interior (Bureau of Land Management)
Published 27th December 2023: The US$8 billion oil drilling project in Alaska named Project Willow has received funding approval from ConocoPhillips. The project was green-lit earlier this year by the US Department of Interior. It is expected to generate between US$8 to 17 billion in revenue. Willow is set to be one of the biggest North Slope oil fields to be put into operation. It has been estimated that 600 million barrels of reserves are expected to be produced over its 30-year lifetime. Given its location within the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska, it is also set to be the North Slope’s westernmost producing oil field. According to ConocoPhillips, the first production is expected in 2029.
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Construction Start Date
Construction began earlier this year with about 800 employees and contractors at work on the project. Furthermore, the project has the potential to create over 300 long-term jobs and 2,500 construction jobs that last beyond construction. The project, embraced by Alaska political and business leaders, is viewed as critical to preserving the North Slope’s oil operations. Willow is expected to supply up to 180,000 barrels per day at peak operation. This is more than a third of the average daily production in the fiscal year that ended on June 30. Moreover, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) environmental impact statement found it would result in 287 million tons of carbon emissions plus other greenhouse gases.
History on the project
More than 2 decades ago, ConocoPhillips acquired the first Willow-area leases in the northeast portion of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska called the Bear Tooth Unit. 17 years later, the company drilled two oil exploration wells, which encountered “significant pay”. It named this discovery Willow and in 2018, it appraised the greater Willow area and discovered three additional oil prospects. In August 2020, the BLM approved the development of the ConocoPhillips project option.
New Project Willow Scope
In a bid to protect migratory routes for a regional caribou herd that has acted as a food source for some Alaska Native communities, the project’s scope was reduced from five to three drilling sites according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. The reduction of the drilling sites was not enough for environmental and Native groups. They went on to file for an emergency injunction a few weeks back that would have reversed Biden’s approval of the project.
The project has faced a lot of backlash due to its impacts on the environment. In March this year, Earthjustice, an environmentalist organization filed a lawsuit on behalf of conservation groups to stop the Willow project. Activists say that the approval of a new carbon pollution source contradicts President Joe Biden’s promises to slash greenhouse gas emissions in half by 2030. In a second lawsuit, on the same day the Natural Resources Defense Council, Center for Biological Diversity, Greenpeace and others asked the federal Alaska court to vacate the approval. In response to these appeals, Biden’s administration cancelled oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. However, approvals were not revoked for this Willow project.
Further reading:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/12/22/conocophillips-greenlights-8-billion-oil-project-in-alaska-following-failed-block-by-native-groups/?sh=333d9a0c1eb2
https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/conocophillips-to-develop-alaska-based-willow-project-following-biden-administration-approval-70691140
https://alaskapublic.org/2023/12/26/conocophillips-announces-official-go-ahead-for-huge-willow-oil-project-in-alaska/