White House blames predecessors for Biden approving massive oil drilling project

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President Biden and White House officials have repeatedly blamed the recent approval of a massive oil drilling project in Alaska on previous administrations.

On March 13, after numerous delays, the Department of the Interior (DOI) approved three of the five drilling sites proposed by oil company ConocoPhillips as part of its Willow Project in the National Petroleum Reserve located in northern Alaska. While the DOI gave the final seal of approval, President Biden played an active role in approving the project which is projected to produce 576 million barrels of crude oil over its 30-year lifespan.

But despite Willow's expected popularity in Alaska and expected economic benefits — in addition to its projected oil production output, ConocoPhillips said it would create more than 2,500 construction jobs, 300 long-term jobs and deliver as much as $17 billion to local and federal taxpayers — the Biden administration has opted against taking credit for the project approval.

"The difficult decision was on what we do with the Willow Project in Alaska, and my strong inclination was to disapprove of it across the board," Biden told reporters Friday.

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President Biden said he was inclined to reject Willow, but that counsel told him he was legally required to approve it. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

"But the advice I got from counsel was that if that were the case, we may very well lose in court — lose that case in court to the oil company — and then not be able to do what I really want to do beyond that, and that is conserve significant amounts of Alaskan sea and land forever," the president continued.

In addition, DOI Secretary Deb Haaland issued a video statement hours after her agency released the decision on March 13. In the video, she stated that Willow was "a difficult and complex issue that was inherited."

"These are existing leases issued by previous administrations as far back as the 90s," Haaland continued. "As a result, we have limited decision space."

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Haaland, who opposed the project as a member of Congress, notably didn't sign the record of decision or release a statement in the original department announcement. Instead, DOI Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau signed the document explaining the agency's actions.

Interior Secretary Deb Haaland issued a video statement that Willow was "a difficult and complex issue that was inherited." (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

And during press briefings after the approval was announced, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre similarly suggested the administration didn't have a choice but to green-light the project.

"Look, the President kept his word when he — when he can — where he can by law. Right? That is important to note," she said on March 16. "As the Interior Department said, some of the company’s leases are decades old, granted by prior administrations. The company has a legal right to those leases. The department’s options are limited when there are legal contracts in place."

"The step that the Department of Interior had ta- — had taken was because of certain legal constraints. So we have to remember that," Jean-Pierre added days later. "These were le- — this was part of a legal kind of decision, as I explained last week."

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Environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit this month, arguing the administration wasn't legally required to approve the Willow Project. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Sunrise AU)

A White House spokesperson pointed Fox News Digital back to Biden's remarks from Friday when asked if Willow was approved for its economic benefits or because of legal requirements.

The Biden administration, though, has previously revoked mineral leases, opted against issuing permits on existing fossil fuel leases and canceled lease sales. In September, the DOI agreed to a settlement with environmental groups, blocking drilling on 113 existing leases spanning 58,617 acres in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

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Some of the same environmental groups involved in that case filed a federal lawsuit on March 15 challenging the Willow approval. The lawsuit argued that the DOI decision was "based on the erroneous view that it must allow ConocoPhillips to fully develop all economically recoverable oil on its leases."

Overall, ConocoPhillips is Alaska's largest oil producer and owner of exploration leases. The company holds 1.6 million acres of undeveloped acres across the state.