ConocoPhillips plans to drill exploratory wells in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska to expand its drilling operations in the Arctic, if approved by the Interior Department.
The exploration via four wells and seismic testing — if they lead to significant discoveries underground — could increase crude oil production out of Alaska for years. The state is already the site of ConocoPhillips’ planned Willow oil project.
That would align with the Trump administration’s push to double down on American fossil fuel production. It could also lock in decades’ worth of new carbon emissions at a time when scientists are warning of the dire consequences that will come from a failure to curb climate change.
Houston-based ConocoPhillips applied Monday for permits to drill exploration wells mostly in the eastern areas of the NPR-A, not far from the Willow project, according to a company statement. One well would be in the Greater Mooses Tooth unit, while another would be in the Bear Tooth unit; two other wells would be drilled “to the west,” ConocoPhillips said. The seismic program would occur south of the Greater Mooses and Bear Tooth units.
“ConocoPhillips is dedicated to the safe and responsible development of our leaseholds in Alaska for the benefit of all Alaskans and our nation’s energy security,” the company said in its emailed statement. “We recognize the strategic importance of resource development in the state and are seeking authorization from the Bureau of Land Management to conduct exploration activities in the NPR-A during the winter season of 2025-2026.
“ConocoPhillips looks forward to continuing our more than 50-year track record of responsibly exploring for and developing Alaska’s resources in the years ahead,” ConocoPhillips added.
Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, which manages underground resources on federal lands, declined to comment.
The application for exploratory wells was reported earlier by Bloomberg.
For environmentalists, drilling in the largest tract of U.S. public land is both a danger to species like polar bears, arctic foxes and migrating birds as well as a failure to phase out oil operations. Green groups have long opposed the contentious Willow oil project, which is under construction and scheduled to begin producing oil in 2029.
“The proposed oil exploration around the Willow mega-project is reckless in the face of the climate crisis and ongoing concerns from the community of Nuiqsut,” Matt Jackson, Alaska senior manager at The Wilderness Society, said in a statement.
Drilling activity on Alaska’s North Slope has long been a source of tension. In 2023, former President Joe Biden approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow oil project, which could involve about 200 wells that may be active for decades. But Biden also restricted or banned drilling in about half the NPR-A.
The Trump administration has since moved to remove those protections, sometimes called the 2024 Western Arctic rule, and open up 82 percent of the NPR-A for oil and gas leasing.
“Proposed developments like this are exactly why the 2024 Western Arctic Rule should stand, to ensure ongoing protections for Arctic communities, subsistence species and the climate in the face of relentless industrial pressure,” Jackson said Tuesday.
