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A Willow injunction?
Groups challenging NPR-A development want work to stop until lawsuit is resolved
Alan Bailey for Petroleum News
On Dec. 23 the Sovereign Inupiat for a Living Arctic and four environmental organizations filed a motion in the federal District Court in Alaska, asking the court to issue a preliminary injunction requiring ConocoPhillips to defer construction work on its Willow oilfield development in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, pending resolution of a court case challenging the legality of the Bureau of Land Management approval of the project.
ConocoPhillips has said that, depending on regulatory approvals, Willow construction could begin in 2021.
Project approval challenged As previously reported in Petroleum News, in November the appellees filed their case in District Court, arguing that BLM had violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and the Administrative Procedures Act when approving the ConocoPhillips project. The development includes the construction of drill sites, a processing center, an operations center and access roads. The appellees claim that BLM had failed to adequately consider the potential environmental impacts of the project, including the potential impacts on wetlands, the tundra and wildlife, in particular on polar bears, a species designated as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The case also claims the potential for adverse impacts on the nearby community of Nuiqsut.
The new motion argues that a preliminary injunction is necessary to prevent Willow construction activities from taking place until the District Court lawsuit is resolved.
Lease sale appeal Meanwhile, on Dec. 22 the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit issued an order rejecting a petition by environmental groups for an en banc rehearing of an appeal against the legal validity of a 2017 BLM oil and gas lease sale in the NPR-A.
ConocoPhillips bought some leases in the sale in support of its exploration strategy in the NPR-A. There is particular interest in making further oil discoveries in the Nanushuk formation in the region. The Nanushuk has been the focus of major oil discoveries in the region, including the discovery of the Willow oil field.
As reported in the July 19 issue of Petroleum News, on July 9 a panel of 9th Circuit judges dismissed the appeal against the lease sale, saying that BLM had complied with the National Environmental Policy Act in its decision to hold the sale. The environmental organizations that had launched the appeal subsequently requested an en banc hearing. However, the court’s rejection of this request brings the 9th Circuit case to an end, with the court finding in favor of BLM.
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