Biden Administration Signals Support for Controversial Alaska Oil Project

The Biden administration took a key step towards approving a huge oil drilling project in the North Slope of Alaska, angering environmental activists who said allowing it to go forward would make a mockery of President Biden's climate change promise.

The Biden administration was in favor of the project but it was blocked by a judge because the environmental review didn't consider the effects on climate change and wildlife.

The new analysis was issued by the Biden administration.

The Department of Interior said in its analysis that the plan would produce 180,000 barrels of crude oil a day and emit at least 278 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions over its lifetime.

A plan by the oil company calls for five drill sites, a processing facility, hundreds of miles of pipelines, new gravel roads, an airstrip and a gravel mine in a region that is home to polar bears, caribou and migratory birds. Proponents of the project argue that the development would harm wildlife and cause dangerous levels of greenhouse gases.

In a statement, the Interior Department said that the new analysis included several options, including a reduction in the number of drilling sites, but did not represent a final decision on the project. The agency will take comments from the public for 45 days and make a decision later this year.

The analysis issued by the Biden administration signaled its support for the project. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska is a moderate Republican who is most likely to break with her party and support Democratic appointees.

Ms. Murkowski said that she would hold the administration accountable for their commitment to see the additional environmental review through so that construction could begin this winter.

The statement said that the project would create employment opportunities for union labor and contribute local tax revenue that benefits communities on the North Slope.

As Mr. Biden seeks to show voters that he is working to increase the domestic oil supply, the announcement comes. Less than a week ago, the administration opened the door to more offshore oil and gas drilling in coastal waters.

As a candidate, President Biden promised to end new federal oil and gas leases in order to assure younger voters and others that he would pivot the country away from fossil fuels.

Huge amounts of greenhouse gases are put into the atmosphere by the burning of coal, oil and gas.

The senior vice president for energy and environment policy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank that is strongly supportive of the Biden administration, was furious that the DOJ was one step away from approving the project.

She wrote that the oil and gas project would be a hub for development for the Department of Defense.

Alaska has warmed more quickly than the rest of the United States. Sea ice is disappearing, sea levels are rising, and the ground is getting warmer in the northern part of the planet. Climate change has led to the melting of the permafrost, and at one point, it was announced thatchillers would be installed to keep it solid.

The decision to block the project was sent back to the government by the federal judge in Alaska. There was no deadline for the new analysis to be issued.

The northeastern part of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska was set aside for oil and gas development. More than 1,000 jobs are expected to be created during peak construction and more than 400 permanent jobs as a result of the initial discovery of oil in the willow area.

The elimination of the northernmost proposed drill site and associated infrastructure in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area would reduce the potential size of the project.

The alternative produced less emissions than the preferred plan over the course of 30 years. 284 million metric tons of emissions would be created by the oil company.