A U.S. federal appeals court ordered work to stop at a major oil project on Alaska's North Slope, siding with conservation and Indigenous groups. Circuit Court of Appeals will stop on-the-ground work for the winter at the Willow project operated by ConocoPhillips Co., the Anchorage Daily News reported Sunday. The Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska was expected to provide jobs for about 120 people this year. This month, the groups asked the 9th Circuit to overturn a U.S. District Court decision to allow winter work to continue. Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska program director for Defenders of Wildlife, said the project threatens people and wildlife in the Southern Beaufort Sea region.

Source: CBC News February 15, 2021 17:37 UTC