Environmental Security: A Guide to the Issues by Elizabeth L. Chalecki

Author:Elizabeth L. Chalecki [Chalecki, Elizabeth L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Security (National & International), Public Policy, General, Political Freedom
ISBN: 9780313391521
Google: oA3TWNmTX_oC
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2013-01-24T20:43:46+00:00

Security Impact of Oil/Gas Exploration

The Arctic is not only a transit route but also a significant national security destination in its own right. Particularly valuable are the mineral and petroleum reserves believed to lie under the Arctic Ocean. In 2008, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated that basins within or near the Arctic could contain approximately 22 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas reserves. According to Mead Treadwell, Chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission, there are also considerable mineral resources located in the North. In addition to a possible 10 billion barrels of hydrocarbons, there could be as much as 182 million tons of manganese, 12 million tons of nickel, 9 million tons of copper, and 5,000 tons of cobalt. These are strategic minerals, necessary for key industrial and defense applications.

Of course, the United States is not the only nation interested in petroleum and minerals from the Arctic. In October 2007, Norway's Snohvit field began producing natural gas for the U.S. market, the first petroleum project north of the Arctic Circle. Exxon Mobil Canada and Imperial Oil have begun to explore 205,000 hectares of Arctic floor beneath the Beaufort Sea for oil and gas (CBC 2007). In anticipation of an Arctic oil boom, the Russians currently have three 70,000-ton Arctic Shuttle Tankers being built by Samsung Heavy Industries in Korea for 2009–2010. These double-acting tankers can break moderate ice up to 1.5 m thick without an icebreaker escort and are designed to transport oil from Arctic fields to land ports (PortNews 2007). Increasing Asian demand for LNG will provide the Russians with an opportunity not only to expand the use of NSR but also to sign commercial energy contracts in China, Japan, and South Korea.

In the face of all these potential economic windfalls, it is still uncertain whether the world will see a willy-nilly rush to start drilling in the Arctic. The cost of doing so is significant due to the cold, the still-dangerous shifting ice, the depth of the water, and the uncertainty of the legal regime governing the Arctic. However, the resulting pressure to secure any available petroleum resources could push nations into the Arctic sooner rather than later, especially since land operations in places like Iraq and Nigeria have become money-losing ventures due to the constant threat of militancy and in-country sabotage.

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