Federal appeals panel stops work on ConocoPhillips’ Willow project Published February 14
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Print article A federal appeals court has sided with conservation and Indigenous groups and halted winter work at a major ConocoPhillips oil project on Alaska’s North Slope. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Saturday issued the six-page decision, by 9th Circuit Judges William Canby and Michelle Friedland, on Saturday. The decision will halt on-the-ground work at Willow for the year, said Natalie Lowman, a spokeswoman with ConocoPhillips, in an email Sunday. Winter activity at developing projects on Alaska’s North Slope is supported by ice roads that melt in the spring, sharply reducing on-the-ground activity for all but a handful of months. The project, among the most promising North Slope prospects, was expected to employ about 120 people this year.