Arctic Drilling Gets the Go-Ahead
The Biden administration has given its approval of the Willow oil-drilling project in Alaska, reports The Wall Street Journal (subscription).
The gist: “The green light means Houston-based ConocoPhillips can start construction on its roughly $7 billion project in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, which the company expects will produce about 180,000 barrels of oil a day at its peak—equivalent to about 40% of Alaska’s current crude production.”
- “The Interior Department said it would allow drilling on three of the five drill sites proposed by ConocoPhillips, which announced the Willow discovery in 2017.”
The NAM’s take: The NAM expressed its support of the project to the administration last summer, pointing out that while manufacturers make full use of renewable energy sources, they also need oil and gas.
- “Manufacturers know that we must continue developing reliable sources of American energy and can do that in a way that still allows us to achieve critical environmental goals,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons today.
- “The Willow project is one such opportunity, which is why we advocated for its approval. Projects like this strengthen manufacturing’s competitiveness and are essential to bolstering domestic supply chains and job creation.”
NAM in action: The NAM has long been a vocal supporter of enacting permitting reform and making way for large-scale energy and infrastructure projects. Below, you can watch Timmons discuss the importance of overhauling the system during his 2023 State of Manufacturing Address:
The last word: Timmons recently hammered home the need for reform in a message to several U.S. House committees, saying, “Some of the biggest obstacles preventing manufacturers—and therefore the entire American economy—from reaching our full potential are the permitting delays, red tape and complicated bureaucracy that have plagued us for decades.”
Related
Manufacturers Unveil Competitiveness Agenda Ahead of Midterm Elections
“Competing to Win” offers a path for bringing the country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose
Washington, D.C. – Ahead of the midterm elections, the National Association of Manufacturers released its policy roadmap, “Competing to Win,” a comprehensive blueprint featuring immediate solutions for bolstering manufacturers’ competitiveness. It is also a roadmap for policymakers on the laws and regulations needed to strengthen the manufacturing industry in the months and years ahead.
With the country facing rising prices, snarled supply chains and geopolitical turmoil, manufacturers are outlining an actionable competitiveness agenda that Americans across the political spectrum can support. “Competing to Win” includes the policies manufacturers in America will need in place to continue driving the country forward.
“‘Competing to Win’ offers a path for bringing our country together around policies, shared values and a unified purpose,” said NAM President and CEO Jay Timmons. “The NAM is putting forward a plan filled with ideas that policymakers could pursue immediately, including solutions to urgent problems, such as energy security, immigration reform, supply chain disruptions, the ongoing workforce shortage and more. Manufacturers have shown incredible resilience through difficult times, employing more workers now than before the pandemic, but continued resilience is not guaranteed without the policies that are critical to the state of manufacturing in America.”
The NAM and its members will leverage “Competing to Win” to shape policy debates ahead of the midterm elections, in the remainder of the 117th Congress and at the start of the 118th Congress—including in direct engagement with lawmakers, for grassroots activity, across traditional and digital media and through events in key states and districts as we did following the initial rollout of the roadmap in 2016.
The document focuses on 12 areas of action, and all policies are rooted in the values that have made America exceptional and keep manufacturing strong: free enterprise, competitiveness, individual liberty and equal opportunity.
Learn more about how manufacturers are leading and about the industry’s competitiveness agenda at nam.org/competing-to-win.
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The National Association of Manufacturers is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. Manufacturing employs more than 12.8 million men and women, contributes $2.77 trillion to the U.S. economy annually and accounts for 58% of private-sector research and development. The NAM is the powerful voice of the manufacturing community and the leading advocate for a policy agenda that helps manufacturers compete in the global economy and create jobs across the United States. For more information about the NAM or to follow us on Twitter and Facebook, please visit www.nam.org
