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Released December 27, 2023 | SUGAR LAND
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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP) (Houston, Texas) has reached a final investment decision (FID) on the Willow oil drilling project in Alaska, approving the project and allocating funds needed to begin construction and reach first oil production, the energy company said last week.
"With this project authorization, we've begun winter construction and Alaskans have started to receive the benefits from responsible energy development," said Ryan Lance, chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, in a related press release.
ConocoPhillips expects the multibillion-dollar project, when completed, will be able to produce 200,000 barrels per day (BBL/d), and up to 600 million barrels across the lifetime of the project. The Willow project includes constructing a central processing facility, drill sites and a transportation pipeline, among other work.
The project is in the Bear Tooth development, which sits on Alaska's North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A); the NPR-A is approximately 23 million acres of public land for oil and gas drilling, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior (Washington, D.C.).
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can click here for a list of Willow-related project reports and click here for the related plant profiles.
The project reached the recent milestone following years of regulatory and environmental reviews and lawsuits contesting the authorization.
In March, the U.S. government approved a scaled-down version of the project, reducing the number of drill pads by 40% and requiring ConocoPhillips to relinquish more than 68,000 acres worth of leases in its Bear Tooth development. That will reduce the project's freshwater use and eliminates all infrastructure related to the two rejected drill sites, all of which reduces potential impacts to caribou migration and subsistence users, according to a March press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
That was part of the Biden administration's plan, announced in April 2022, to reduce the acreage available for oil and gas drilling in the NPR-A by almost half. And in September, those efforts continued as Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the cancellation of seven oil and gas leases in the NPR-A awarded by former-President Donald Trump. For more information, see April 27, 2022, article - Biden, BLM Plan to Close Lands for Alaskan Oil Drilling, and September 8, 2023, article - Biden Walks Energy Tightrope With Alaska Snub, Critical Mineral Investments.
Despite the Biden administration's efforts to reduce the oil and gas footprint on federal lands in Alaska, Industrial Info is tracking other oil and gas production projects in the state--including another development effort in the NPR-A: the Pikka oil field, a joint venture between Santos (Adelaide, Australia) (operator; 51% stake) and Repsol (Madrid, Spain) (49%).
Last year, the companies reached an FID for the estimated US$2.6 billion Phase 1 of the Pikka project, which is expected to reach first oil in 2026. The first phase, which is expected to kick off early next year, consists of an 80,000-BBL/d central processing facility, drill pads and related pipelines, among other work. Subscribers can click here to read a full list of project reports.
But there's a chance the project could face unforeseen consequences, should preliminary discussions for a merger of Santos and Australia's Woodside Energy Group (NYSE:WDS) (Perth, Australia) come to fruition. The talks would create a global oil and gas giant, but Santos has stated any discussions are at an early stage and that there is no certainty an agreement would materialize.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
"With this project authorization, we've begun winter construction and Alaskans have started to receive the benefits from responsible energy development," said Ryan Lance, chief executive officer of ConocoPhillips, in a related press release.
ConocoPhillips expects the multibillion-dollar project, when completed, will be able to produce 200,000 barrels per day (BBL/d), and up to 600 million barrels across the lifetime of the project. The Willow project includes constructing a central processing facility, drill sites and a transportation pipeline, among other work.
The project is in the Bear Tooth development, which sits on Alaska's North Slope in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A); the NPR-A is approximately 23 million acres of public land for oil and gas drilling, managed by the Bureau of Land Management, a branch of the U.S. Department of the Interior (Washington, D.C.).
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Production Project Database can click here for a list of Willow-related project reports and click here for the related plant profiles.
The project reached the recent milestone following years of regulatory and environmental reviews and lawsuits contesting the authorization.
In March, the U.S. government approved a scaled-down version of the project, reducing the number of drill pads by 40% and requiring ConocoPhillips to relinquish more than 68,000 acres worth of leases in its Bear Tooth development. That will reduce the project's freshwater use and eliminates all infrastructure related to the two rejected drill sites, all of which reduces potential impacts to caribou migration and subsistence users, according to a March press release from the U.S. Department of the Interior.
That was part of the Biden administration's plan, announced in April 2022, to reduce the acreage available for oil and gas drilling in the NPR-A by almost half. And in September, those efforts continued as Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced the cancellation of seven oil and gas leases in the NPR-A awarded by former-President Donald Trump. For more information, see April 27, 2022, article - Biden, BLM Plan to Close Lands for Alaskan Oil Drilling, and September 8, 2023, article - Biden Walks Energy Tightrope With Alaska Snub, Critical Mineral Investments.
Despite the Biden administration's efforts to reduce the oil and gas footprint on federal lands in Alaska, Industrial Info is tracking other oil and gas production projects in the state--including another development effort in the NPR-A: the Pikka oil field, a joint venture between Santos (Adelaide, Australia) (operator; 51% stake) and Repsol (Madrid, Spain) (49%).
Last year, the companies reached an FID for the estimated US$2.6 billion Phase 1 of the Pikka project, which is expected to reach first oil in 2026. The first phase, which is expected to kick off early next year, consists of an 80,000-BBL/d central processing facility, drill pads and related pipelines, among other work. Subscribers can click here to read a full list of project reports.
But there's a chance the project could face unforeseen consequences, should preliminary discussions for a merger of Santos and Australia's Woodside Energy Group (NYSE:WDS) (Perth, Australia) come to fruition. The talks would create a global oil and gas giant, but Santos has stated any discussions are at an early stage and that there is no certainty an agreement would materialize.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 Trillion (USD).
