Biden administration to back Willow oil project in Alaska -Bloomberg

Under the plan, ConocoPhillips would be permitted to drill from three locations, Bloomberg said, adding that the approval is set to be released next week. The three drill sites would align with a "preferred alternative" Interior's Bureau of Land Management proposed for the $7 billion project last month.

(Adds background, details on online campaign) WASHINGTON, March 10 (Reuters) -

President Joe Biden's administration has decided to authorize ConocoPhillips' massive Willow oil project in northwest Alaska, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing two people familiar with the matter. The project has support from the oil and gas industry and state officials eager for jobs, but it is opposed by environmental groups who want to move rapidly away from fossil fuels to combat climate change. Biden has been trying to balance his goals of decarbonizing the U.S. economy with calls to increase domestic fuel supplies to keep prices low.

Willow would be located inside the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, a 23 million-acre (93 million-hectare)

area on the state's North Slope that is the largest tract of undisturbed public land in the United States. Under the plan, ConocoPhillips would be permitted to drill from three locations, Bloomberg said, adding that the approval is set to be released next week.

The three drill sites would align with a "preferred alternative" Interior's Bureau of Land Management proposed for the $7 billion project last month. ConocoPhillips had originally proposed a larger footprint with five drill sites and more surface infrastructure. But ConocoPhillips and Alaska elected officials endorsed BLM's preferred version of the project, which the bureau said would reduce the impact on habitats for species like polar bears and yellow-billed loons.

Environmental activists have lobbied the administration forcefully to reject the project, arguing it conflicts with Biden's promises to combat climate change. As of Friday evening, a petition on Change.org had more than 3.1 million signatures, while posts on Tiktok with the #StopWillow hashtag had more than 162 million views. The Interior Department did not comment on the report.

A ConocoPhillips spokesperson said the company would not comment until an official decision was published.