Joe Biden expected to move ahead on a major oil project in Alaska

In one of the most consequential climate decisions of his administration, President Joe Biden is planning to greenlight an enormous $8 billion oil drilling project in the North Slope of Alaska, according to a person familiar with the decision.

Alaska lawmakers and oil executives have put intense pressure on the White House to approve the project, citing Biden’s own calls for the industry to increase production amid volatile gas prices stemming from Russia’s war against Ukraine. But the proposal to drill for oil has also galvanized climate activists, many of whom would view the decision as a betrayal of the president’s promise that he would pivot the nation away from fossil fuels.

The approval of the largest proposed oil project in the country would mark a turning point in the administration’s approach to fossil fuel development. The courts and Congress have forced Biden to back away from his campaign pledge of “no more drilling on federal lands, period” and sign off on some limited oil and gas leases. The Willow project would be one of the few oil developments that Biden has approved without a court or a congressional mandate.

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has championed the project, said Friday night that she had not been notified of the decision. “We are not celebrating yet, not with this White House,” she said.