www.AlaskaAlliance.com 19 Company will invest $7 billion into the project ConocoPhillips announced its Final Investment Decision, or FID, on the Willow oil project in late December, a move that was anticipated and that formally commits the company to the project and the funds needed for its construction. Willow is expected to cost between $7 billion and $7.5 billion and add 180,000 barrels per day at peak to Trans-Alaska Pipeline System throughput soon after its construction is complete in 2029. Projects like Willow tend to ramp up quickly to peak production and then hold steady for several years before a gradual decline sets in. The company’s FID decision follows the Department of the Interior’s March 2023 Record of Decision approving the project and recent court decisions, including the order from Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that denied plaintiffs’ request in lawsuits for an injunction. Conservation groups and an Alaska tribal group had filed suit against the U.S. Bureau of Land Management over the agency’s approval of Willow, arguing that BLM’s Environmental Impact Statement was insufficient. Winter construction on the project is now under way and the formal approval by ConocoPhillips will allow activity to ramp up quickly. “We are excited to reach this significant milestone,” said Ryan Lance, chairman and chief executive officer, in a statement. “With this project authorization we’ve begun winter construction and Alaskans have started to CONTINUED on PAGE 21
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