< br />WASHINGTON, March 13 — RIA Novosti. The administration of US President Joe Biden on Monday agreed on the large-scale Willow project of the American company ConocoPhillips for the extraction of oil wells in the state of Alaska, approving work at three of the five drilling sites, follows from the statement of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the country.
«The decision rejects two of the five drilling sites proposed by ConocoPhillips, cutting the proposed drilling sites by 40%,» the agency said.
It is noted that this decision «significantly reduces» the scope of the project.
On Sunday, the Associated Press, citing a source in the US administration, reported that President Biden intends to limit the Willow project. The source indicated that the head of state would prevent or restrict oil drilling on 16 million acres (6.5 million hectares) in Alaska and the Arctic Ocean.
Earlier, the media reported that the US administration decided to sanction the development of oil in northwest Alaska, rejecting the arguments of conservationists. ConocoPhillips will be allowed to drill at the Willow field, which could produce up to 180,000 barrels per day.
The project is opposed by environmental activists who argue that the development of the field will be accompanied by the release of 280 million tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and will push the world towards a «climate catastrophe».