ConocoPhillips is widening the last gravel road before Willow's modules hit ice

The North Slope easement at the heart of moving Willow's largest prefabricated components from the dock to the construction site is up for renewal — and the upgrades it covers were scheduled to begin in mid-May.

ConocoPhillips Alaska filed a March 27 application with the Alaska Department of Natural Resources to renew the Meltwater Easement, which runs from the Kuparuk Spine Road to Drill Site 2P, the eastern endpoint of the existing Kuparuk gravel road network roughly 10 miles east of the Colville River. From DS2P, heavy-haul ice roads carry oversized loads across a partially grounded ice bridge near Ocean Point on to GMT-2 and Willow itself. That makes Meltwater the chokepoint between the modules' arrival point at Oliktok Dock and the western North Slope construction site.

The renewal covers 13,500 cubic yards of new gravel within the Meltwater easement itself and replacement or expansion of 11 culverts to widen curves and narrow sections — work intended to clear the way for larger and heavier modules. The broader connected road-upgrade program tallies up to 108,400 cubic yards of gravel and a 9.8-acre footprint, most of it inside the Kuparuk River Unit.

The timing matters. ConocoPhillips reported Willow hit roughly 50% completion this past winter, with first oil still targeted for 2029. Twelve modules built in Corpus Christi, Texas were sealifted in and hauled from Kuparuk to Willow over gravel and ice roads during the most recent winter season. Road upgrades supporting the Willow Operation Center modules are scheduled to wrap by summer 2026; a further round will be required ahead of even larger Willow Central Facility modules arriving in summer 2027.

The Meltwater Easement was originally approved in 2004. DNR is processing the application (ADL 417187) as a renewal rather than a new route. Construction was scheduled to begin May 15. Public comment closed May 6; DNR will share the final decision with all commenters, with appeal and reconsideration rights available under 11 AAC 02.