Despite his own administration’s repeated attempts to shutter the Canadian energy industry, US President Joe Biden this week opened a controversial region of the Alaskan North Slope for oil drilling..The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this week submitted a supplementary environmental impact study (SEIS) for ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR). The supplemental review was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, over environmental concerns including greenhouse gas emissions. .Indeed, Biden himself campaigned against it during the 2020 election after it was previously approved by the Trump administration. It was part of a series of punitive policy measures against the oil industry aimed at bolstering his green credentials among environmental activists. Indeed, his first executive order as president was to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office..The Department of the Interior — which oversees the BLM — still has 30 days to approve or reject a scaled down version of the proposed project. And it’s not clear if it’s inclined to do so, citing lingering worries over potential environmental damage..In a statement on its website, the DOI said the final SEIS includes a preferred alternative, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. “The preferred alternative is not a decision about whether to approve the Willow Project,” it said. “The Department has substantial concerns about the Willow project and the preferred alternative as presented in the final SEIS, including direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impacts to wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence.”.ConocoPhillips had originally planned to build five drilling pads on the barren tundra, but the BLM reduced that number to three. If approved, it would produce roughly 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) — roughly equivalent to a Canadian oil sands mine — sometime after 2025. ConocoPhillips has estimated the $8-billion project would create 2,000 construction jobs along with 300 permanent jobs, and generate up to $17 billion in federal and state taxes in an area roughly the size of Indiana located some 965 kilometres from Anchorage..Biden’s about-face comes amid concerns for US energy security in light of the continuing war in Ukraine and disruptions to global oil markets. Climate activists have decried the move but a report by the American Press said many Inuit communities in the region — including those with financial interests in the project — support it. .Biden also continues to come under fire from House Republicans for drawing down the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves by some 180 million barrels, netting Washington a cool $4 billion US. At 370 million barrels, US stocks are at their lowest level in nearly four decades..In other news, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Thursday reported fourth-quarter 2022 earnings of $3.2 billion, or $2.61 per share, compared with $2.6 billion, or $1.98 per share the prior year. Excluding special items, full-year 2022 adjusted earnings were $17.3 billion, or $13.52 per share, more than double the $8.0 billion, or $6.01 per share in 2021. Continuing a trend among oil majors, it also announced plans to return $11 billion in distributions and dividends back to shareholders..Conoco’s shares were up about four bits to $111.83 at the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.
Despite his own administration’s repeated attempts to shutter the Canadian energy industry, US President Joe Biden this week opened a controversial region of the Alaskan North Slope for oil drilling..The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) this week submitted a supplementary environmental impact study (SEIS) for ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR). The supplemental review was ordered by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, over environmental concerns including greenhouse gas emissions. .Indeed, Biden himself campaigned against it during the 2020 election after it was previously approved by the Trump administration. It was part of a series of punitive policy measures against the oil industry aimed at bolstering his green credentials among environmental activists. Indeed, his first executive order as president was to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office..The Department of the Interior — which oversees the BLM — still has 30 days to approve or reject a scaled down version of the proposed project. And it’s not clear if it’s inclined to do so, citing lingering worries over potential environmental damage..In a statement on its website, the DOI said the final SEIS includes a preferred alternative, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. “The preferred alternative is not a decision about whether to approve the Willow Project,” it said. “The Department has substantial concerns about the Willow project and the preferred alternative as presented in the final SEIS, including direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impacts to wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence.”.ConocoPhillips had originally planned to build five drilling pads on the barren tundra, but the BLM reduced that number to three. If approved, it would produce roughly 180,000 barrels per day (bpd) — roughly equivalent to a Canadian oil sands mine — sometime after 2025. ConocoPhillips has estimated the $8-billion project would create 2,000 construction jobs along with 300 permanent jobs, and generate up to $17 billion in federal and state taxes in an area roughly the size of Indiana located some 965 kilometres from Anchorage..Biden’s about-face comes amid concerns for US energy security in light of the continuing war in Ukraine and disruptions to global oil markets. Climate activists have decried the move but a report by the American Press said many Inuit communities in the region — including those with financial interests in the project — support it. .Biden also continues to come under fire from House Republicans for drawing down the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves by some 180 million barrels, netting Washington a cool $4 billion US. At 370 million barrels, US stocks are at their lowest level in nearly four decades..In other news, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) Thursday reported fourth-quarter 2022 earnings of $3.2 billion, or $2.61 per share, compared with $2.6 billion, or $1.98 per share the prior year. Excluding special items, full-year 2022 adjusted earnings were $17.3 billion, or $13.52 per share, more than double the $8.0 billion, or $6.01 per share in 2021. Continuing a trend among oil majors, it also announced plans to return $11 billion in distributions and dividends back to shareholders..Conoco’s shares were up about four bits to $111.83 at the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.
