Court to rule on Willow oil lawsuits in early November

An Alaska federal court ruling is expected Nov. 10 on ConocoPhillips’ big Willow oil project on the North Slope. This is on two environmental lawsuits filed against the project that are still pending.

The date for the decision was set out by U.S. District Court Judge Sharon Gleason and includes a schedule for submission of briefs. The decision will come ahead of the 2023-2024 winter construction season, and if the judge rules favorably construction work will be underway in the upcoming season.

“The scope of the issues involved (in the lawsuits) are narrow and we believe the U.S. Bureau of Land Management has done a thorough review,” on the issues raised by the plaintiffs, Andy O’Brien, the company’s Senior Vice President for Global Operations told analysts in the company’s Aug. 3 second-quarter earnings call.

The lawsuits were filed by Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic, an Alaska tribal advocacy group, and the Center for Biological Diversity, an Arizona-based environmental group.

O’Brien also said Willow’s cost is still estimated in the range of $7 billion to $7.5 billion, O’Brien said. “Alaska has not seen the kind of inflationary pressures experienced in other areas, so we expect this to hold,” through five to six years of construction.”

If it proceeds, Willow is expected to begin producing in 2029 a peak rate of 180,000 barrels per day.

In a related development, Alaska reporter Nat Herz reported in his Northern Journal blog that an Arctic Slope tribal government took a stand against ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil development and then reversed itself, without explanation, a few days later. Most of the political interests in the Arctic Slope region are strong supporters of the petroleum production that funds the region’s extensive government services.

The tribal council in Anaktuvuk Pass, an Iñupiaq village in the Brooks Range, had filed 31-page friend-of-the-court briefs July 28 in two separate lawsuits in federal court challenging the Willow project.

The briefs said that the Biden administration failed to adequately consult with the tribe as it reviewed ConocoPhillips’ project proposal, and that the development would exacerbate community members’ existing challenges in harvesting the caribou that they depend on.

Shortly after, however, the tribal council filed a new motion in the cases, asking the judge’s permission to revoke its brief.

“The Naqsragmiut Tribal Council now files this Notice to inform the Court that the Council is withdrawing its previously filed Motion for Leave to File Amicus Curiae,” said the three-sentence filing. An attorney with the Oregon-based public interest firm representing the tribal council, the Western Environmental Law Center, declined to comment further.

Of the North Slope’s eight communities, Anaktuvuk Pass is one of just two that are inland from the coast. That means it lacks easy access to the whales and other marine mammals that help sustain other villages — making caribou an especially important subsistence resource.

In this context, any industrial development further north in the oil-producing regions that could affect caribou calving and migration, is of special concern to people in Anaktuvuk Pass. The extension of east-west pipelines to the Willow development area, however, could create barriers to movement by the animals.

However, the tribal council was persuaded that the economic benefits or more oil production outweigh the risks to caribou.

Meanwhile, work is now underway this fall on another big North Slope development, the Pikka oil project, which is being done by Santos Ltd., an Australian company, and Repsol, a major oil company based in Madrid.

Material delivery is happening this summer with the first modules arriving late in the year. Two modules of 40,000 barrels per day each are planned. Santos hopes to accelerate work so first production can start in early 2026. First phase is 80,000 barrels per day.