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What To Know About the Just-Approved $8B Willow Project’s Potential Impact on the Planet

The project is an $8 billion development venture that will allow ConocoPhillips, a crude oil producer, to drill into the underground reservoir of oil in the region and extract 600 million barrels of oil.

On March 13th, the Biden Administration approved the Willow Project after decades of legal debates. This massive development project stands to transform a portion of the northern Alaskan landscape into a facility capable of pumping out over 180,000 barrels of oil per day over a 30-year timespan , according to ConocoPhillips.

The Willow project stands to negatively impact the surrounding wildlife habitats and Alaska Native communities, in addition to the prospect climate-focused progress.

Proponents point out that the project stands to create an estimated 2,800 jobs and generate between $8 and 17 billion in revenue for the federal government, the state of Alaska, and the North Slope Borough communities.

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The project is at odds with President Biden’s climate goals to create a carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035 . It also stands to negatively impact the surrounding wildlife habitats and Alaska Native communities, in addition to the prospect climate-focused progress.

Why was the Willow project approved?

Most of the land in the NPR-A is federally owned by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is legally available to lease for oil and mining. ConocoPhillips acquired the leases to the land back in the 1990s , and in 2020, the Trump Administration gave the green light for drilling.

However, Sharon Gleason , chief judge on the U.S. District Court of Alaska, reversed this decision in 2021 , citing that the environmental analysis was flawed and failed to properly measure greenhouse gas emissions. The BLM then performed a supplemental analysis to address gaps in the initial plan.

The Biden Administration has approved this project to appease the oil company and stay “consistent with the terms of existing leases,” according to the BLM's Record of Decision . The project also received high praise from both Democratic and Republican Alaskan lawmakers for its potential to drive economic revenue and job creation.

It’s worth noting that the Biden Administration didn't grant the Willow project full approval. Originally, ConocoPhillips proposed to operate five drill sites, but the approved pared-down version of the plan includes three sites. The aim here is to mitigate negative impact on wildlife habitat by reducing the surface footprint by cutting out things like roads. While this may be an environmentally preferred alternative than more invasive proposals of the plan, it still comes with a whole host of problems.

Potential negative impacts of the Willow project to know about

Nonprofit environmental groups, like Earthjustice and the Wilderness Society , have critiqued the Willow project for its short- and long-term environmental and social justice ramifications for local communities. With regard to the social justice component, officials from the City of Nuiqsut and Native Village of Nuiqsut, which sits on the border of the National Petroleum Reserve, oppose the development due to concerns for their health and way of life . According to a statement by the U.S. Department of the Interior , even the BLM has concerns about the project, including “direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impacts to wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence.”

This project has indirect emissions of 239 million metric tons of CO2, which is equivalent to the total annual electricity use of over 30 million homes. Environmental analysis also found that this project would also release black carbon (pM2.5), which research has found to have toxic effects on the health of community members near the pollution source. “If the BLM knows that our health is deteriorating, how can it in good conscience allow an activity to go forward, which will make our health worse?” ask Nuiqsut city mayor Rosemary Ahtuangaruak, vice mayor Carl Brower, and president of the Native Village of Nuiqsut Eunice Brower in a joint letter to the Department of the Interior .

Not only would the drilling and extraction release harmful levels of greenhouse gases into the air when the U.S. should be reducing our emissions for climate-protection efforts , but the associated infrastructure to produce and transport the oil would be massive. The final proposal selected by the Biden Administration includes 199 oil wells, 89.6 miles of pipeline, hundreds of miles of roads, bridges, boat ramps, an airstrip, a central processing facility, and a gravel mine site—among other required developments. These roadways and landscape changes stand to stress out animals, potentially altering the migration and movement patterns of caribou, wolves, and thousands of bird species.

That could yield an ecological disaster, and it would also impact the Nuiqsut population’s harvest access and ability to support themselves. A 2018 analysis found that the effects on subsistence and sociocultural systems of oil drilling in the region may be highly adverse and disproportionately born by the Nuiqsut population. According to the document, rapid modernization associated with a huge development boom (think: noise and air pollution and increased human activity) could increase stress levels and exacerbate mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression.

But while President Biden’s approval gives the go-ahead for ConocoPhillips to start building, we won’t see any oil pumped from the ground until the infrastructure is in place. In the meantime, environmental organizations and law groups are saddling up for a series of legal battles to attempt to delay development. Now is the time for concerned citizens to make their voices heard, whether through social media campaigns like #StopWillow (on platforms including Instagram and TikTok ), via donation to nonprofit organizations like Earthjustice and Wilderness Society, or otherwise getting involved in the efforts such orgs support. Because what do jobs and money matter when the health of the planet hangs in the balance?

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Rethinking the Willow Project: Did BLM Have Other Options?

On March 13, 2023, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) approved a major oil drilling operation on the North Slope of Alaska. The so-called “ Willow Project ” will be developed by ConocoPhillips and involve the drilling of up to 199 new oil wells, spread across three well pads, along with the construction of various related infrastructure, including pipelines, processing facilities, roads, and boat ramps. All of this activity is expected to have serious adverse impacts on the local environment and nearby communities. It will also worsen global climate change. The Willow Project is expected to produce as much as 180,000 barrels of oil per day at its peak and result in around 130 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent over its lifetime.

Approval of the Willow Project runs directly counter to President Biden’s campaign promise to stop oil and gas drilling on federal lands. It is also counter to his administration’s goal of halving economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. The approval has angered many climate activists and others who see it as a “ stain ” on President Biden’s climate legacy. In the weeks since the approval was announced, the Biden administration has tried to paint a different picture, suggesting that it had no choice but to approve the Willow Project. But is that really the case? This post explores the scope of BLM’s authority to block oil and gas drilling on federally-owned land in situations where the land has already been leased to a private party for the specific purpose of developing oil and gas resources.

History of Oil and Gas Development on Alaska’s North Slope

ConocoPhillips has held leases on federal land on Alaska’s North Slope since 1999. The leased land forms part of the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (the “NPR-A”)—an area covering approximately 23 million acres that was set aside in 1923 by President Harding who, believing the land contained significant fossil fuel resources, designated it as an emergency oil supply for the U.S. Navy.

In 1976, in the National Petroleum Reserves Act (“Reserves Act”), Congress transferred authority over the NPR-A from the Secretary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior. As originally enacted, the Reserves Act prohibited the Secretary of the Interior from leasing land in the NPR-A for oil, gas, or other development (subject to limited exceptions). However, in 1980, Congress amended the Reserves Act to remove the prohibition and direct the Secretary of the Interior to “conduct an expeditious program of competitive leasing of oil and gas” in the NRP-A. The Secretary of the Interior delegated this leasing authority to BLM, which held its first oil and gas lease sale , covering 1.5 million acres of land in the NPR-A, in December 1981.

In the decades since, BLM has continued to lease land in the NPR-A for oil and gas development, offering a total of 59.7 million acres between 1999 and 2019. Interestingly, though, oil and gas developers only bid on about 7 million acres or 11% of the total land offered for lease. (As discussed in a previous post on this blog, this is consistent with BLM’s experience in the contiguous U.S., where only a small portion of the federal land it has offered for lease in recent years has received bids.)

The Legal Effect of Oil and Gas Leases

Oil and gas leases issued by BLM grant the lessee “the exclusive right to drill for, mine, extract, remove and dispose of all the oil and gas . . . in the land.” This, together with the fact that ConocoPhillips has held oil and gas leases in the NPR-A for over 20 years, has led some to conclude that BLM had to approve the Willow Project. For example, in defending BLM’s approval of the project, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters : “some of the company’s leases are decades old, granted by prior administrations. The company has a legal right to those leases. [BLM’s] options are limited when there are legal contracts in place.”

It is certainly true that ConocoPhillips has a legal right to the leases. As discussed in a previous blog post , BLM can only cancel NPR-A leases in two, limited circumstances:

• If a lease is not producing oil and gas, it may be cancelled if the lessee fails to comply with any legal requirement imposed on him/her/it.
• If a lease is producing or “known to contain valuable deposits of oil or gas,” it can only be cancelled “by court order.”

The land covered by ConocoPhillips’ NPR-A leases falls into the second category. It is known to contain valuable deposits of oil and gas because, in 2016, ConocoPhillips drilled two exploratory wells that “encountered significant pay.” The Biden administration could not, therefore, unilaterally cancel ConocoPhillips’ leases. But there might be other ways for the administration to limit, or perhaps even block, extraction of oil and gas pursuant to those leases.

As noted above, BLM leases grant the lessee exclusive rights to extract oil and gas, but those rights are “granted subject to applicable laws, the terms, conditions, and . . . stimulations of th[e] lease, [and] the Secretary of the Interior’s regulations and formal orders.” (It should be noted that this quote is from the current “ form lease ” used by BLM. The author was not able to review the leases BLM entered into with ConocoPhillips and thus cannot confirm that they contain similar language. Statements by BLM suggest they do, however. For example, BLM has previously said that ConocoPhillips’ leases entitle it to extract oil and gas resources, “subject to regulation.” The analysis that follows assumes the ConocoPhillips leases contain the language quoted above.)

The “applicable laws” include the Reserves Act, which directs the Secretary of the Interior to take steps to protect the “environmental, fish and wildlife, and historical or scenic values” within the NPR-A. The Reserves Act further provides that, when issuing oil and gas leases, the Secretary of the Interior “shall include or provide for such conditions, restrictions, and prohibitions as the Secretary deems necessary or appropriate to mitigate reasonably foreseeable and significant adverse effects on the surface resources of the NPR-A.”

One way in which BLM seeks to minimize the adverse impacts of oil and gas development on surface resources is by regulating drilling operations in the NPR-A. Under BLM regulations , before any oil or gas well can be drilled under an NPR-A lease, the lessee must submit an application for permit to drill (APD) to BLM. The APD must include a surface use plan of operations specifying, among other things, the location of any proposed drill pads, the method of pad construction, and other activities to be undertaken in connection with drilling. A lessee can choose to submit a single plan—known as a master development plan (MDP) – that covers multiple APDs.

BLM regulations provide that, upon receiving an APD, BLM “shall take one of the following actions . . . (1) Approve the application as submitted or with appropriate modifications or conditions; [or] (2) Return the application and advise the application of the reasons for disapproval.” The regulations are clear that, if BLM selects option (2) and disapproves the APD, “[n]o drilling operations, nor surface disturbance preliminary thereto, may be commenced.”

BLM also has authority to suspend previously approved drilling operations in certain circumstances. Under BLM regulations , operations may be suspended if, among other things, BLM determines that suspension “is in the interests of conservation of natural resources” or “mitigates reasonably foreseeable and significant adverse effects on surface resources.”

Implications for the Willow Project

What does all of this mean for the Willow Project? ConocoPhillips submitted an MPD for the Willow Project in May 2018. After conducting an environmental review, BLM approved the MPD in October 2020. However, in August 2021, the approval decision was vacated by the Federal District Court for the District of Alaska in Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic v. BLM .

The court held that the environmental review conducted by BLM did not meet the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). Among other things, the court found that BLM had inappropriately constrained the range of alternatives it considered in the environmental review because it believed that “ConocoPhillips’ lease rights precluded the agency from considering alternatives concerning the configuration or location of the drill pads.” According to the court:

“BLM maintained that ConocoPhillips has the right to extract all the oil and gas possible within the leased area. But . . . [t]he leases do not grant the lessee the unfettered right to drill wherever it chooses or categorically preclude BLM from considering alternative development scenarios. Further, BLM’s asserted restriction on its authority is inconsistent with its own statutory responsibility to mitigate adverse effects on the surface resources . . . To the extent BLM relied on this reason to not examine other alternatives, its alternatives analysis was inadequate.”

Following the court’s decision, BLM prepared a supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”), in which it considered one additional alternative. Based on the supplemental EIS, BLM approved ConocoPhillips’ MDP, with some modifications. Whereas BLM had initially approved the drilling of up to 251 wells across five drill pads, following completion of the supplemental EIS, BLM approved a scaled-down version of the Willow Project involving the drilling of up to 199 wells across three pads.

The supplemental EIS has been challenged in court , again, on the basis that BLM’s alternatives analysis was inadequate (among other grounds). Environmental groups challenging BLM’s decision allege that “it has again analyzed an inadequate range of alternatives in the [supplemental] EIS based on the mistaken conclusion that it must allow ConocoPhillips to fully develop its leases.” The groups note that, in the supplemental EIS, “BLM asserted that it must allow access to at least some of the subsurface resources under all of [ConocoPhillips’] leases with a demonstrated development potential, that it may not permit a development proposal that would strand an economically viable quantity of oil, and that it is obligated to approve development of leases in some form.”

These statements arguably misrepresent BLM’s statutory authority and obligations. As noted above, under the Reserves Act, BLM can impose “conditions, restrictions, and prohibitions” on oil and gas development in the NPR-A as “necessary or appropriate to mitigate reasonably foreseeable and significant adverse effects on . . . surface resources.”

Climate change is already having significant adverse effects on the surface resources of the NPR-A. According to the supplemental EIS prepared for the Willow Project, “[m]inimum temperatures in the Arctic have increased at about three times the global rate over the past 50 years,” resulting in the “loss of sea ice and snow cover.” The supplemental EIS notes that “[p]ermafrost loss in Alaska’s North Slope is already widespread.” Unless greenhouse gas emissions are rapidly reduced, “further warming will lead to further reductions of near-surface permafrost volume.” There will also be a decrease in snow cover, “with a later date of first snowfall and an earlier snowmelt,” which will “reduce water storage and increase the risk and extent of wildland fires and insect outbreaks in the region.”

It could be argued that, since the root cause of these adverse effects is greenhouse gas emissions, BLM must take steps to reduce those emissions to fulfill its Reserve Act obligations. BLM might seek to reduce emissions by restricting, or even prohibiting, the drilling of new oil wells as part of the Willow Project. This seems entirely appropriate given that emissions from the Willow Project could, by BLM’s own estimates, cause somewhere between $3 billion and $38 billion worth of climate-related damages (depending on the social cost of carbon used to value those damages). In these circumstances, restricting or even preventing drilling arguably would not violate ConocoPhillips’ lease rights.

The courts have previously held that lessees are not automatically entitled to permits to extract oil and gas from land they lease from the federal government. This was made clear by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Marathon Oil Co. v. United States . The plaintiff in that case—Marathon Oil—had been denied a permit to extract oil from offshore land it leased from the federal government under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA). Similar to the Reserves Act, the OCSLA authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue leases for oil and gas development on certain federal land, located offshore in an area known as the Outer Continental Shelf. The OCSLA provides that, before a lessee may develop oil and gas resources pursuant to a lease, he/she/it must have a plan of operations approved by the Secretary of the Interior.

In Marathon Oil Co v. United States , the Federal Circuit noted that leases issued under the OCSLA “grant lessees the exclusive right to drill for, develop, and produce oil and gas resources.” But, according to the court, “[o]btaining a lease is one thing; obtaining the necessary permits to explore and then produce is another.”

The Federal Circuit held that the Secretary of the Interior did not violate Marathon Oil’s lease rights when it refused to approve a plan of operations for the development of oil and gas resources in the leased area. The court noted that, under Marathon Oil’s lease, the right to drill for oil and gas resources “was expressly conditioned on compliance with [applicable] . . . statutory and regulatory provisions” that aimed to, among other things, protect coastal ecosystems. The court determined that the statutory requirements for approval of Marathon Oil’s plan of operations had not been met. Thus, according to the court, “[u]nder the circumstances of this case, to treat Marathon’s failure to obtain the necessary approvals and permits for exploratory activity as a breach of contract by the Government would be to eviscerate these salutary protections of the nation’s fragile coastal lands and waters.”

On appeal, the Federal Circuit’s decision was reversed by the Supreme Court, but on slightly different grounds. In short, the Supreme Court found that the Secretary of the Interior had not refused to approve Marathon Oil’s plan of operations because it did not meet the statutory requirements for approval, but due to other factors. Arguably, then, the Supreme Court’s ruling does not invalidate the above reasoning.

While Marathon Oil Co. v. United States involved offshore leasing, which is governed by a different statutory regime, the Federal Circuit’s reasoning could be applied to the Willow Project. Similar to the OCSLA, the Reserves Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue oil and gas leases on federal land, but provides that development pursuant to those leases “shall” be restricted or prohibited as necessary to minimize environmental disturbance. BLM arguably does not violate the terms of oil and gas leases by imposing such restrictions or prohibitions.

Supporters of the Willow Project might assert that the Reserves Act only authorizes BLM to restrict or prohibit development where necessary to “mitigate . . . adverse effects on the surface resources of the NPR-A.” They might further argue that surface resources are only indirectly affected by greenhouse gas emissions from the Willow Project—i.e., via climate change, which a wide range of other activities also contribute to—and that the Reserves Act does not expressly authorize BLM to prevent or restrict development based on indirect climate impacts. The case law suggests otherwise, however.

No court has, so far, ruled on the scope of BLM’s authority to restrict or prevent oil and gas development on climate grounds. Notably, however, multiple federal courts have held that BLM is required to consider greenhouse gas emissions and associated climate impacts when conducting environmental reviews of oil and gas projects pursuant to NEPA (see here for an example). This is significant because the courts have also held that an agency, like BLM, is only required to “gather or consider environmental information” in its NEPA review if the agency has “statutory authority to act on that information.” Thus, by holding that BLM is required to consider climate impacts in its NEPA reviews, the courts have suggested—at least implicitly–that BLM could act on that information.

These and other issues are sure to be hotly debated in the litigation over the Willow Project. The outcome of the litigation remains uncertain. It is, however, clear that there was no easy “win” for the Biden administration when it came to the Willow Project. The administration faced significant legal and political risks whatever decision it made. It is already feeling the political blowback from approval of the Willow Project and, as this blog explains, faces legal risks as well. On the other hand though, rejecting the project would also have exposed it to political blowback, and likely legal action as well.

Romany Webb

Romany Webb is a Research Scholar at Columbia Law School, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Climate at Columbia Climate School, and Deputy Director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.

• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link International Governance of Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Recent Developments and Future Directions
• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link Executive Actions to Ensure Safe and Responsible Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal Research in the United States
• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link An Update on the Evolving Legal Landscape for Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal: Key Outcomes of the October 2023 Meeting of the Parties to the London Convention and Protocol
• Romany Webb #molongui-disabled-link The Evolving Legal Landscape for Ocean-Based Carbon Dioxide Removal

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Community-Based Social Justice Work: The WILLOW Project

• First Online: 05 August 2018

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Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy ((GCED))

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Anne Geraghty-Rathert highlights the possibilities for melding the theoretical study of law with its practical application for engaging in social justice work. By combining classroom study with community pro bono outreach, undergraduate students gain useful skills for their future careers while learning important lessons about human rights and equality before the law. At Webster University, student interns work on a clemency project called the WILLOW Project (Women Initiate Legal Lifelines to Other Women). The Project represents three women, all incarcerated due to violence perpetrated by their batterers and not by themselves. The issues of domestic violence and wrongful conviction inherent in the WILLOW Project’s work resonate with students and offer them opportunities to hone vital skills for engaging in social justice and human rights protection.

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Beck, Mary T. 2004. “Teaching: Case Studies from American Universities: Spotlight: Response to Violence Against Women at the University of Missouri-Columbia.” St. Louis University Public Law Review 23: 227.

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Haney, Craig. 2001. “From Prison to Home: The Effects of Incarceration and Reentry on Children, Families and Communities.” U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. https://aspe.hhs.gov/basic-report/psychological-impact-incarceration-implications-post-prison-adjustment/ .

Innocence Project. n.d. “Homepage.” http://innocenceproject.org .

International Human Rights Network. n.d. “What Are HR Based Approaches.” http://www.ihrnetwork.org/what-are-hr-based-approaches_189.htm .

Nash, Jay Robert. 2008. I Am Innocent. Cambridge: Da Capo Press.

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Roberts, Stephanie, and Lynne Weathered. 2009. “Assisting the Factually Innocent: The Contradictions and Compatibility of Innocence Projects and the Criminal Cases Review Commission.” The Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 29: 43.

Warden, Rob. 2002. “The Revolutionary Role of Journalism in Identifying and Rectifying Wrongful Convictions.” The University of Missouri Kansas City Law Review 70: 83.

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Geraghty-Rathert, A. (2018). Community-Based Social Justice Work: The WILLOW Project. In: Kingston, L. (eds) Human Rights in Higher Education. Palgrave Studies in Global Citizenship Education and Democracy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91421-3_12

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BLM seeks public input on revised draft environmental analysis for proposed Willow Project in Alaska

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) - Alaska today released its revised draft environmental review of ConocoPhillips’ proposed Willow Master Development Plan in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve (NPR-A). The BLM prepared the draft supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) to address deficiencies identified by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska in its 2021 vacatur of the previous administration’s approval of the Willow Project. ConocoPhillips purchased the Willow Project leases in the 1990s. This draft SEIS presents a range of alternatives, including a “no action” alternative, and does not represent any final decision on the Willow Project. The BLM will make a final decision only after considering public comments on the draft SEIS and completing its analysis. 

The draft SEIS includes a corrected and expanded analysis of potential climate impacts associated with the Willow Project. This expanded climate analysis, among other things, addresses the court’s finding that the original analysis failed to consider downstream foreign emissions resulting from the consumption of oil produced by the project. 

In order to consider an alternative with modified infrastructure in the Teshekpuk Lake Special Area (TLSA), the draft SEIS also includes a new alternative that would reduce the potential footprint of the proposed Willow Project by removing two of the five proposed drill sites from consideration, including eliminating the northernmost proposed drill site and associated infrastructure in the TLSA. Under this alternative, BLM expects that the company would relinquish significant lease rights in the TLSA, an ecologically important wetland that hosts thousands of birds and the Teshekpuk caribou herd, that are part of the Bear Tooth Unit and the proposed Willow Project. For purposes of providing a complete picture of potential impacts of the Willow Project, this alternative includes analysis of a fourth potential drill site that would be deferred, meaning that it would require an additional review process under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and is not being considered for inclusion in the new alternative.  

As reflected in the draft SEIS, BLM will reinitiate consultation under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) concerning listed species, including polar bear. This consultation will include consideration of mitigation measures and updates to the range of alternatives.  

The draft SEIS was developed following a public scoping comment period as well as close coordination with eight cooperating agencies (the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, North Slope Borough, State of Alaska, Native Village of Nuiqsut, and City of Nuiqsut) and external stakeholders.  

The BLM plans to hold (public health measures permitting) in-person public meetings in Utqiagvik, Anchorage and Nuiqsut, as well as three virtual public meetings. A subsistence-related hearing to receive comments on the proposed Project’s potential to impact subsistence resources and activities will also be held in Nuiqsut concurrent with the in-person public meeting. The BLM will continue to consult with potentially affected federally recognized Tribes on a government-to-government basis, and to work with Alaska Native communities to ensure their voices are heard in our decision-making process. 

The Willow Master Development Plan Draft Supplementary Environmental Impact Statement is available at the BLM’s NEPA Register https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/109410/570 or a copy may be requested from the BLM’s State Office in Anchorage. 

Following publication in the Federal Register, the BLM will announce public meetings, subsistence-related hearings, and any other public participation activities at least 15 days in advance on the NEPA Register program page, as well as through public notices, news releases, social media posts, and/or mailings. 

The BLM encourages the public to provide comments during the 45-day comment period, particularly concerning the adequacy and accuracy of the proposed alternatives, the analysis of its respective management decisions, and any new information that would help develop the final plan. Comments can be submitted: 

Online:    https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/109410/570  

By Mail: BLM Alaska State Office ATTN: Willow MDP SDEIS 222 W. 7th Ave, Stop #13 Anchorage, AK 99513 

Before including personal identifying information (address, email, phone number), commenters should be aware that their entire comment – including their personal identifying information – may be made publicly available at any time. While those commenting can ask in their comments to have this information withheld from public review, the BLM cannot guarantee that it will be able to do so.  

For more information on this project, please contact the BLM’s project manager, Stephanie Rice, at (907) 271-3202, or [email protected] .  

The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.

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Interior Department Issues Statement on Proposed Willow Project

Date: Wednesday, February 1, 2023 Contact: [email protected]

The Bureau of Land Management-Alaska today completed the final supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS), as directed by the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska, for the proposed Willow Master Development Plan in the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska (NPR-A) for which there are existing leases.

The final SEIS includes a preferred alternative, as required under the National Environmental Policy Act. The preferred alternative is not a decision about whether to approve the Willow Project.

The Department has substantial concerns about the Willow project and the preferred alternative as presented in the final SEIS, including direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions and impacts to wildlife and Alaska Native subsistence.

Consistent with the law, a decision will be finalized by the Department no sooner than 30 days after publication of the final SEIS. That decision may select a different alternative, including no action, or the deferral of additional drill pads beyond the single deferral described under the preferred alternative.

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NABTU STATEMENT ON ALASKA’S WILLOW PROJECT

2nd february 2023 -->.

Washington, D.C. – February 2, 2023 – Today, North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU) President Sean McGarvey issued the following statement on the issuing of the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement from the U.S. Department of the Interior on the Willow Project in Alaska:

“North America’s Building Trades Unions applaud the issuing of the final supplemental environmental impact statement on the Alaska Willow Project by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. After years of committed work, multiple public comment periods, and dozens of public meetings, the announcement brings this critical infrastructure project closer to deployment.

“We commend the Department of Interior for showing its ardent support for the over 1,600 middle-class, family-sustaining union jobs this project will provide. We look forward to working with the Biden Administration to construct and complete this key critical infrastructure and moving our nation closer to energy independence.”

This week, NABTU continued our national Opportunity Pipeline Tour in Madison, Wisconsin! We kicked it off with a career fair for students interested in learning about a career in the building trades. On Thursday, NABTU toured SMART 18 's platinum status training center and heard from national and local leaders and apprentices about the importance of the building trades careers for a strong U.S. middle class. www.wkow.com/news/national-tour-makes-a-stop-in-madison-to-promote-construction-careers/article_c... ... See More See Less

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On behalf of the members- #welcometowisconsin #IW383

PHONE: (202) 347-1461

EMAIL: [email protected]

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• What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

What Is a Thesis? | Ultimate Guide & Examples

Published on September 14, 2022 by Tegan George . Revised on November 21, 2023.

A thesis is a type of research paper based on your original research. It is usually submitted as the final step of a master’s program or a capstone to a bachelor’s degree.

Writing a thesis can be a daunting experience. Other than a dissertation , it is one of the longest pieces of writing students typically complete. It relies on your ability to conduct research from start to finish: choosing a relevant topic , crafting a proposal , designing your research , collecting data , developing a robust analysis, drawing strong conclusions , and writing concisely .

Thesis template

You can also download our full thesis template in the format of your choice below. Our template includes a ready-made table of contents , as well as guidance for what each chapter should include. It’s easy to make it your own, and can help you get started.

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Table of contents

Thesis vs. thesis statement, how to structure a thesis, acknowledgements or preface, list of figures and tables, list of abbreviations, introduction, literature review, methodology, reference list, proofreading and editing, defending your thesis, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about theses.

You may have heard the word thesis as a standalone term or as a component of academic writing called a thesis statement . Keep in mind that these are two very different things.

• A thesis statement is a very common component of an essay, particularly in the humanities. It usually comprises 1 or 2 sentences in the introduction of your essay , and should clearly and concisely summarize the central points of your academic essay .
• A thesis is a long-form piece of academic writing, often taking more than a full semester to complete. It is generally a degree requirement for Master’s programs, and is also sometimes required to complete a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts colleges.
• In the US, a dissertation is generally written as a final step toward obtaining a PhD.
• In other countries (particularly the UK), a dissertation is generally written at the bachelor’s or master’s level.

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The final structure of your thesis depends on a variety of components, such as:

• Your discipline
• Your theoretical approach

Humanities theses are often structured more like a longer-form essay . Just like in an essay, you build an argument to support a central thesis.

In both hard and social sciences, theses typically include an introduction , literature review , methodology section ,  results section , discussion section , and conclusion section . These are each presented in their own dedicated section or chapter. In some cases, you might want to add an appendix .

Thesis examples

We’ve compiled a short list of thesis examples to help you get started.

• Example thesis #1:   “Abolition, Africans, and Abstraction: the Influence of the ‘Noble Savage’ on British and French Antislavery Thought, 1787-1807” by Suchait Kahlon.
• Example thesis #2: “’A Starving Man Helping Another Starving Man’: UNRRA, India, and the Genesis of Global Relief, 1943-1947″ by Julian Saint Reiman.

The very first page of your thesis contains all necessary identifying information, including:

• Your full title
• Your full name
• Your department
• Your institution and degree program
• Your submission date.

Sometimes the title page also includes your student ID, the name of your supervisor, or the university’s logo. Check out your university’s guidelines if you’re not sure.

Read more about title pages

The acknowledgements section is usually optional. Its main point is to allow you to thank everyone who helped you in your thesis journey, such as supervisors, friends, or family. You can also choose to write a preface , but it’s typically one or the other, not both.

Read more about acknowledgements Read more about prefaces

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
• Style consistency

See an example

An abstract is a short summary of your thesis. Usually a maximum of 300 words long, it’s should include brief descriptions of your research objectives , methods, results, and conclusions. Though it may seem short, it introduces your work to your audience, serving as a first impression of your thesis.

Read more about abstracts

A table of contents lists all of your sections, plus their corresponding page numbers and subheadings if you have them. This helps your reader seamlessly navigate your document.

Your table of contents should include all the major parts of your thesis. In particular, don’t forget the the appendices. If you used heading styles, it’s easy to generate an automatic table Microsoft Word.

Read more about tables of contents

While not mandatory, if you used a lot of tables and/or figures, it’s nice to include a list of them to help guide your reader. It’s also easy to generate one of these in Word: just use the “Insert Caption” feature.

Read more about lists of figures and tables

If you have used a lot of industry- or field-specific abbreviations in your thesis, you should include them in an alphabetized list of abbreviations . This way, your readers can easily look up any meanings they aren’t familiar with.

Read more about lists of abbreviations

Relatedly, if you find yourself using a lot of very specialized or field-specific terms that may not be familiar to your reader, consider including a glossary . Alphabetize the terms you want to include with a brief definition.

Read more about glossaries

An introduction sets up the topic, purpose, and relevance of your thesis, as well as expectations for your reader. This should:

• Ground your research topic , sharing any background information your reader may need
• Define the scope of your work
• Introduce any existing research on your topic, situating your work within a broader problem or debate
• State your research question(s)
• Outline (briefly) how the remainder of your work will proceed

In other words, your introduction should clearly and concisely show your reader the “what, why, and how” of your research.

Read more about introductions

A literature review helps you gain a robust understanding of any extant academic work on your topic, encompassing:

• Selecting relevant sources
• Determining the credibility of your sources
• Critically evaluating each of your sources
• Drawing connections between sources, including any themes, patterns, conflicts, or gaps

A literature review is not merely a summary of existing work. Rather, your literature review should ultimately lead to a clear justification for your own research, perhaps via:

• Addressing a gap in the literature
• Building on existing knowledge to draw new conclusions
• Exploring a new theoretical or methodological approach
• Introducing a new solution to an unresolved problem
• Definitively advocating for one side of a theoretical debate

Read more about literature reviews

Theoretical framework

Your literature review can often form the basis for your theoretical framework, but these are not the same thing. A theoretical framework defines and analyzes the concepts and theories that your research hinges on.

Read more about theoretical frameworks

Your methodology chapter shows your reader how you conducted your research. It should be written clearly and methodically, easily allowing your reader to critically assess the credibility of your argument. Furthermore, your methods section should convince your reader that your method was the best way to answer your research question.

A methodology section should generally include:

• Your overall approach ( quantitative vs. qualitative )
• Your research methods (e.g., a longitudinal study )
• Your data collection methods (e.g., interviews or a controlled experiment
• Any tools or materials you used (e.g., computer software)
• The data analysis methods you chose (e.g., statistical analysis , discourse analysis )
• A strong, but not defensive justification of your methods

Read more about methodology sections

Your results section should highlight what your methodology discovered. These two sections work in tandem, but shouldn’t repeat each other. While your results section can include hypotheses or themes, don’t include any speculation or new arguments here.

Your results section should:

• State each (relevant) result with any (relevant) descriptive statistics (e.g., mean , standard deviation ) and inferential statistics (e.g., test statistics , p values )
• Explain how each result relates to the research question
• Determine whether the hypothesis was supported

Additional data (like raw numbers or interview transcripts ) can be included as an appendix . You can include tables and figures, but only if they help the reader better understand your results.

Read more about results sections

Your discussion section is where you can interpret your results in detail. Did they meet your expectations? How well do they fit within the framework that you built? You can refer back to any relevant source material to situate your results within your field, but leave most of that analysis in your literature review.

For any unexpected results, offer explanations or alternative interpretations of your data.

Read more about discussion sections

Your thesis conclusion should concisely answer your main research question. It should leave your reader with an ultra-clear understanding of your central argument, and emphasize what your research specifically has contributed to your field.

Why does your research matter? What recommendations for future research do you have? Lastly, wrap up your work with any concluding remarks.

Read more about conclusions

In order to avoid plagiarism , don’t forget to include a full reference list at the end of your thesis, citing the sources that you used. Choose one citation style and follow it consistently throughout your thesis, taking note of the formatting requirements of each style.

Which style you choose is often set by your department or your field, but common styles include MLA , Chicago , and APA.

Create APA citations Create MLA citations

In order to stay clear and concise, your thesis should include the most essential information needed to answer your research question. However, chances are you have many contributing documents, like interview transcripts or survey questions . These can be added as appendices , to save space in the main body.

Read more about appendices

Once you’re done writing, the next part of your editing process begins. Leave plenty of time for proofreading and editing prior to submission. Nothing looks worse than grammar mistakes or sloppy spelling errors!

Consider using a professional thesis editing service or grammar checker to make sure your final project is perfect.

Once you’ve submitted your final product, it’s common practice to have a thesis defense, an oral component of your finished work. This is scheduled by your advisor or committee, and usually entails a presentation and Q&A session.

After your defense , your committee will meet to determine if you deserve any departmental honors or accolades. However, keep in mind that defenses are usually just a formality. If there are any serious issues with your work, these should be resolved with your advisor way before a defense.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or research bias, make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

Research bias

• Survivorship bias
• Self-serving bias
• Availability heuristic
• Halo effect
• Hindsight bias
• Deep learning
• Generative AI
• Machine learning
• Reinforcement learning
• Supervised vs. unsupervised learning

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The conclusion of your thesis or dissertation shouldn’t take up more than 5–7% of your overall word count.

If you only used a few abbreviations in your thesis or dissertation , you don’t necessarily need to include a list of abbreviations .

If your abbreviations are numerous, or if you think they won’t be known to your audience, it’s never a bad idea to add one. They can also improve readability, minimizing confusion about abbreviations unfamiliar to your reader.

When you mention different chapters within your text, it’s considered best to use Roman numerals for most citation styles. However, the most important thing here is to remain consistent whenever using numbers in your dissertation .

A thesis or dissertation outline is one of the most critical first steps in your writing process. It helps you to lay out and organize your ideas and can provide you with a roadmap for deciding what kind of research you’d like to undertake.

Generally, an outline contains information on the different sections included in your thesis or dissertation , such as:

• Your anticipated title
• Your abstract
• Your chapters (sometimes subdivided into further topics like literature review , research methods , avenues for future research, etc.)

A thesis is typically written by students finishing up a bachelor’s or Master’s degree. Some educational institutions, particularly in the liberal arts, have mandatory theses, but they are often not mandatory to graduate from bachelor’s degrees. It is more common for a thesis to be a graduation requirement from a Master’s degree.

Even if not mandatory, you may want to consider writing a thesis if you:

• Plan to attend graduate school soon
• Have a particular topic you’d like to study more in-depth
• Are considering a career in research
• Would like a capstone experience to tie up your academic experience

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Conocophillips, willow project.

Top 10 Things to Know

Correcting the Myths and Misinformation

After decades of study, research and planning, Willow is the ideal project for a rational energy policy that supports the energy transition and U.S. energy security by producing reliable, low emissions-intensity oil from a petroleum reserve. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation about the project. Here, we compile a list of key facts about Willow to address myths and correct misinformation.

1. The Willow project is not a “carbon bomb.”

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) estimates that Willow will create only a fraction of 1% of all U.S. emissions.

The vast majority of those – approximately 0.1% of 2019 U.S. annual emissions, or 0.3% of anticipated 2030 U.S. annual emissions – will come from consumer end-use products such as gasoline for cars, diesel for tractors and fuel oil for home heating. These emissions, known as “Scope 3 emissions,” are not from sources owned or controlled by ConocoPhillips. In other words, even if Willow weren’t developed, these emissions would still occur because fuel is still needed in the United States – but in that case the economic benefits of producing the needed energy would accrue elsewhere.

• Willow will use modern technology and practices to minimize operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Government data indicates Willow direct (Scope 1 and Scope 2) emissions from the Final SEIS would be lower than 709 other GHG emitters in the U.S.
• The BLM concluded that Willow’s annualized direct and net indirect emissions (4.3 million tonnes per year) are comparable to approximately one theoretical coal-fired power plant.

2. The Willow project will not use “chillers.”

Responsible North Slope development – including Willow infrastructure – uses what are known as passive thermosyphons, which allow ground heat to transfer out of the permafrost. These devices are not “chillers” as some have falsely claimed. They are standard Arctic engineering devices that have been in use since the 1960s, and are commonly used when constructing buildings, railroads, bridges and subsistence ice cellars. They require no external power supply.

• Passive thermosyphons are simple devices, usually vertical sealed pipes that are partially embedded in the permafrost. Pressurized two-phase gas (typically natural refrigerants such as CO 2 or NH 3 ) moves through the sealed closed-loop system, driven by the difference in temperature between the cold winter air and the warmer ground temperature. As the vapor/condensate moves, heat is transferred out of the permafrost. Read more about thermosyphons and how they work here .

3. Alaska Native groups support the Willow project.

The North Slope and Alaska Native communities closest to Willow have voiced strong support for the project. In order to gather comments on the project from the people closest to Willow’s proposed site, ConocoPhillips participated in multiple years of engagement including over 150 in-person meetings with local residents and stakeholders, and the BLM held 25 public hearings in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Nuiqsut, Utqiagvik, Atqasuk and Anaktuvuk Pass. Feedback from these meetings shaped the design of the project.

• Ensuring Willow will have minimal impact on the subsistence lifestyle of Alaska Native residents is a priority. As a result, many subsistence mitigation measures were built into the project design, including road access for local community members, boat launches, subsistence road pullouts and subsistence trails.
• Multi-year baseline studies in the Willow area found subsistence harvests have remained at or above previous levels for the duration of ConocoPhillips existing operations near Nuiqsut. These studies will continue throughout the Willow project’s lifetime.

4. The Willow project is on land that the federal government designated for petroleum development and is subject to strict environmental protection requirements.

Willow is located on the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A) , land which was set aside 100 years ago specifically for petroleum development. Roughly the size of Indiana, the NPR-A covers approximately 23 million acres. The Willow gravel footprint is 385 acres, which is less than 0.002% of the total NPR-A. In the area where development will occur, activities are comprehensively regulated to protect air, water, wildlife and other valuable public resources.

• The BLM NPR-A Integrated Activity Plan outlines hundreds of mandatory mitigation and study requirements. Additionally, the inaugural state of Alaska sustainability report, “The Alaska Standard,” details the strict environmental protections in place, including anti-flaring regulations and spill prevention.

5. Willow was designed to co-exist with wildlife.

ConocoPhillips maintains strict operational requirements for wildlife protection, building on a four-decade track record of continuous engineering improvements to avoid and minimize wildlife impacts in our operating fields on the North Slope. Science-based engineering design features at Willow include seven-foot-high pipelines as well as road and pipeline separation to allow for continued caribou movement and herd distribution. Additionally, to minimize the risk of hazards to birds, there are no power lines at Willow.

All permanent Willow infrastructure is outside of designated polar bear critical habitat. Polar bears are not expected in the Willow area, which is inland from the coast. Willow was also designed to have minimal impacts on fish and to subsistence fishers. Facilities are designed to be greater than 500 feet from fish-bearing water.

• The company works with respected scientific firms on a variety of studies and monitoring programs including air quality, wildlife (caribou, birds, polar bears and fish), archaeology, subsistence, habitat mapping, hydrology and water quality. These studies and data are provided to regulatory agencies in connection with permitting and to document compliance and are reflected in the Willow project plans. Reports from these studies and monitoring efforts are available to the public on the North Slope Science Initiative website .

6. Alaska’s entire bipartisan U.S. Congressional delegation supports the Willow project.

Alaska’s entire U.S. Congressional delegation — Democrats and Republicans — supports Willow because of the benefits it will provide to the state of Alaska and Alaska Native communities, while also enhancing U.S. energy security.

• Hear from the bipartisan Alaskan U.S. Congressional delegation here .
• Hear from the first Alaska Native representative in Congress, Representative Mary Peltola, here .

7. The Alaska legislature unanimously approved the Willow project.

The Alaska state legislature unanimously adopted a resolution supporting Willow, urging President Biden and the Department of Interior to approve the project.

• Read the Alaska State Legislature’s unanimous resolution in support of the Willow project, here .

8. The Willow project will provide critical revenues for Alaska starting on day one.

Willow could generate between $8 billion and $17 billion in new revenue for the North Slope Borough and local communities, as well as the state of Alaska and the federal government, according to U.S. BLM estimates. The project is also projected to create 2,500 construction jobs and 300 long-term jobs.

• Federal legislation requires 50% of federal revenue from the NPR-A be made available through the NPR-A Impact Mitigation Grant Program to local communities , which provides significant social and environmental justice benefits by funding city operations, youth programs and essential community projects which in turn create local jobs.
• Property taxes from the Willow project will help fund essential services such as schools, emergency response capabilities, health clinics, drinking water, wastewater, roads, power and solid waste disposal.

9. The Willow project will reduce American dependence on foreign oil.

The BLM found that if Willow doesn’t proceed, 52% of the replacement energy will be oil imported from foreign sources . Most, if not all, of the foreign sources would have lower environmental and GHG standards — and must be transported to the U.S., an additional emissions impact.

This information is detailed in the BLM market substitution analysis . Simply put, Willow’s projected production will reduce American reliance on foreign supply and support U.S. energy security by producing reliable, low emissions-intensity oil from an existing petroleum reserve.

10. The world will need oil for decades to come.

Credible net-zero projections show significant demand for oil for decades to come. The International Energy Agency’s “Net Zero by 2050” pathway shows global oil demand at 24 million barrels per day in 2050 – considerably less than today but also approximately twice what is currently produced by the U.S. During the transition, energy should come from the best possible projects and sources.

• Given this reality, it’s important to develop projects that adhere to strict environmental standards. The Willow project was studied for years before its eventual permitting and evolved based on input from Alaska Native residents and results from baseline studies.
• ConocoPhillips acquired the first Willow-area leases in 1999 and began the development permitting process in 2018. Since then, the project has undergone multiple years of rigorous regulatory review and environmental analysis.
• If Willow were not developed, other countries would produce that oil to meet demand, which means we would be sending jobs, tax revenue and other economic benefits to other countries.

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