Willow. . .Ran

(Willow. . .Ran)

A few days ago, the Willow Run plant in Michigan was mentioned. This facility had been one of the prime production sites for the B-24 Liberator heavy bomber. "Willow," is also a proposed drilling site in Alaska. At the time of the entry here, it was not anticipated that President Biden, in concert with climate activists, would deny the permit for the site and if that were the case, then the benefits that could be accrued, to Alaska and indeed the rest of the country as the Willow product, estimated at 187,000 barrels of oil daily, some 630 million over the 30 year lifetime of the field, would create thousands of jobs initially, and three hundred full-time, and all Biden would have to is say yes.

And, apparently, he did. Against expectation, the President has approved three of the five drilling sites. Three sites, make the project by Conoco Phillips, financially viable and green lights a production proceeding. Now, to be sure, Biden has had no epiphany. He is probably still wants to transition away from fossil fuels, a campaign promise he made. But the reality has always been that the Biden timetable has never been realistic.

The enforced production cuts, the cancelling of pipelines, the prohibitions against exploring and exploiting on federal land. And that had been the case, until Willow at least. Now, all things considered, if this is the President's approach, okay. At the same time, Administration spokes-people are still claiming that Biden is the most "climate sensitive President in history.

So, which is it ? Till now, the President has tried to have it both ways. He knew that his actions would cause gas prices to rise and with the rest of his policies, like the Inflation Reduction Act, that has done nothing but cause inflation. That being said, however, when Willow gets to capacity, and the anticipation of lower oil prices, translating into lower gas prices, that would provide some measure of relief.

Now the question can become, in for a penny, in for a pound ? President Biden can do more than just authorize Willow. With a possible re-election in mind, if he goes beyond Willow, if he allows for the completion of Keystone XL, allows for drilling on more federal holdings, that could in the offering, over time that would decrease the price of gas. Just in time for 2024.