The ConocoPhillips logo is displayed on a floor screen at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., January 13, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

July 8 (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Friday released a key environmental analysis of ConocoPhillips’ (COP.N) planned $6 billion Willow oil and gas drilling project in Alaska, in which it proposed a scaled-down version of the development .

The release of the document comes as US President Joe Biden seeks to balance his administration’s ambitious goals to tackle climate change with calls to increase oil and gas supplies in the face of soaring fuel prices.

In the review, the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) analyzed five potential options for the project, including not building it at all. The agency chose a reduced “overall gravel footprint” with fewer drill sites as the “preferred alternative”.

This option would reduce impacts on wildlife like the yellow-billed loon and caribou, BLM said.

The agency said selecting this alternative did not represent a firm commitment and that it may select a different alternative in its final decision on Willow.

The analysis comes nearly a year after a federal judge overturned the Trump administration’s approval of the massive development, which Alaska officials hoped would help offset declining oil production in the state.

“ConocoPhillips and many stakeholders, including residents of the North Slope and across Alaska, are committed to Project Willow because it will provide much-needed energy while serving as an example solid basis of environmentally and socially responsible development that delivers significant public benefits,” ConocoPhillips spokesman Dennis Nuss said in an emailed statement.

In the August order, Alaska District Court Judge Sharon Gleason overturned the BLM’s approval for Willow and said federal agencies should reconsider their environmental analysis.

The agency did not consider greenhouse gas emissions from foreign oil consumption in its review, while the US Fish and Wildlife Service did not outline specific measures to mitigate the impact. of the polar bear project, Gleason said in his decision.

BLM will accept public comments on its proposals for 45 days.

Environmental groups quickly moved in to voice their opposition to the project.

“The Biden administration cannot let this monstrosity poison the Arctic,” Kristen Monsell, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement. “Willow means more oil spills, more toxic pollution and more climate chaos.”

Reporting by Nichola Groom in Los Angeles; Editing by Christian Schmollinger

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