The goals of the administration's Inflation Reduction Act will be "procedurally impossible" without streamlined permitting for lower carbon energy infrastructure, Conoco CEO Ryan Lance said in remarks at the CERAWeek energy conference.
His comments echoed those of mining and energy executives who spoke earlier about prospects for getting the $430 billion IRA bill to spur development of lower cost fuels and industrial processes.
A major Conoco oil project in northern Alaska, called Willow, has been stalled by court and environmental reviews. Willow holds about 600 million barrels of oil and gas and has the support of Alaskan politicians and native groups.
A Biden administration decision on the project
"Hopefully (comes) sometime this week," Lance said. Approval has
become politicized, he said, adding: the permitting process "has
made very little sense."
"If we don't get (the oil) from Alaska, it's going to come from someplace. It's going to come from probably someplace else around the world that has less environmental standards than what the state of Alaska has," he said.
The disruption in energy markets stemming from the war
in Ukraine has swung investor sentiment toward oil and gas, and
the energy industry's willingness to consider larger, longer
duration projects, he said.
As examples of long-term investments, he cited Conoco's
liquefied natural gas projects in the US, Qatar and Australia.
<^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Biden climate law will stumble without permitting reform, industry warns nL6N35F00A ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^> (Reporting by Gary McWilliams and Richard Valdmanis in Houston)
