Construction decisions set to be made later this year for the $3-billion first phase of oil giant ConocoPhillips’ oilfield development in the National Petroleum Reserve on Alaska’s North Slope could be delayed several years after a federal judge in Alaska threw out two permits for the initial project and a $3-billion follow-on phase.
U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason, in an order issued Aug. 18, said the US Bureau of Land Management and US Fish & Wildlife Service failed to adequately analyze the Willow development’s effect on the region's climate and endangered species under the National Environmental Policy Act and the Environmental Protection Act before approving the permits. It would be located in the National Petroleum Reserve.