Trump administration releases ConocoPhillips’ big winter exploration plans in Alaska

The Trump administration on Monday released details of ConocoPhillips’ plans for a major oil exploration campaign this winter in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.

The plans are included in a newly released draft environmental review as the oil company seeks federal approval for the effort.

The review includes a one-week comment period that ends on Monday, a schedule that conservation groups blasted as woefully insufficient.

ConocoPhillips is seeking to drill four exploration wells near its giant Willow discovery this winter, the plans show, marking its return to aggressive exploration in Alaska as construction at Willow progresses with first oil expected in 2029.

ConocoPhillips originally said in July that it had filed the exploration plans with the agency, but the federal government did not release details until Monday.

Depending on snow and ice conditions, the exploration program could begin as early as this month, according to the plans.

The reserve, the nation’s largest tract of public land, has drawn the interest of oil companies seeking new discoveries and conservation groups fighting actions by the Trump administration to reduce environmental protections there. The 23-million-acre tract is home to endangered waterfowl, threatened polar bears and caribou sought by subsistence hunters from nearby villages.

The drilling efforts will require an estimated 90 million gallons of water pulled from freshwater lakes to support worker camps and help build about 40 miles of ice roads and ice foundations for drilling, the plans show.

The company also wants to conduct seismic exploration across 300 square miles south of Willow to set the stage for future exploration drilling, according to the plans.

The plans call for about 10 miles of snow-packed roads to reach the seismic exploration area.

ConocoPhillips also plans to plug and seal two wells drilled in previous years.

The work is expected to employ about 900 people at its peak, said Rebecca Boys, a ConocoPhillips spokesperson.

It will be supported by planes landing on ice airstrips and an array of trucks, vans and heavy equipment, including special rigs outfitted with giant, low-pressure tundra tires.

“There may be up to 4,000 total round trips to/from the project areas for the four exploration wells, 1,000 round trips for the two wells to be plugged, and 120 round trips for Seismic Exploration work over the course of project activities,” the plans show.

The work comes despite the company’s decision this year to cut its workforce globally, including in Alaska, amid low oil prices.

ConocoPhillips, the top oil producer in Alaska, is a dominant lease-holder in the reserve with more than 150 leases. The company drilled six exploration wells in the area in 2018 on the heels of the Willow announcement, and additional wells in 2019.

This winter’s program in Alaska illustrates ConocoPhillips’ commitment to the state, Boys said.

The release of the plans is an “important next step” in the review process as the company seeks to explore its leases, she said in an email.

“We look forward to building on our 50-year track record with a safe, environmentally responsible winter exploration program,” she said.

The Wilderness Society labeled ConocoPhillips’ plans as “destructive” and criticized the Trump administration’s elimination of safeguards in the reserve.

“Reckless megaprojects like this illustrate why we need the strong protections that the Trump administration is gutting,” said Matt Jackson, Alaska senior manager for The Wilderness Society. “A one-week comment period for ConocoPhillips’ massive oil exploration plan released the day before a federal holiday is a slap in the face to all Alaskans and especially the communities living next door to this project, which will mean a steady stream of trucks rolling across the Arctic all winter.”

Another group, Grandmothers Growing Goodness, noted that a meeting won’t be held in the village of Nuiqsut, near the exploration activity, until Tuesday, Nov. 18 — after the comment period ends.

“It is outrageous that the Trump administration is giving the public a mere seven days to comment on its environmental assessment for ConocoPhillips’ drilling and seismic plans,” said Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, the head of the group and a Nuiqsut resident. “This land is our home. We demand that the Bureau of Land Management give us more time to voice our concerns and fully consider other options before allowing ConocoPhillips to destroy these special and irreplaceable areas.”