Loads of oil and gas under Arctic seabed? US-Canada search for answer
Published: 08 August, 2009, 06:28
Edited: 16 March, 2010, 14:45
TAGS: Natural resources, Oil, Arctic, Interview, SciTech, Gas
A joint expedition by the US and Canada is off to explore the resource-rich Arctic region near Alaska.
This is a continuation of last summer’s joint survey of the continental shelf. Russia has already put forward its claim on the seabed extending into the Arctic.
“We still don’t know whether there is a substantial amount of oil and natural gas underneath that seabed,” said geographer Brian Van Pay.
“There’ve been so few ships that went there to collect the data on the issue. We’re finding mountains we’ve never seen there before, so for the moment it’s hard to estimate the amount of these natural resources in the area, but hydrocarbons are likely to be in the Arctic.”
But why are the two countries spending money, time and energy on this research? Why is it now more important than ever, and what are the international implications behind the expedition?
“It’s not a race for resources, it’s not a land grab and it’s not driven by climate change,” Van Pay noted.
“It really comes down to an international treaty, the UN convention and the law of the sea," he added. "It outlines how a coastal state can find its continental shelf – and in this case it’s the continental shelf that goes beyond 200 nautical miles from your shore.”
Another thing that the treaty specifies, according to the scientist, is the 10-year timeline that each coastal state has to define its extended continental shelf.
“A number of countries came up on that deadline in May," Van Pay explained. "Canada’s deadline is 2013. So, this is a good cooperative that we’ve developed to meet this 10-year deadline.”
According to Patrick Tucker, director of communications at the World Future Society, this expedition is a delineation survey.
“They are looking at the sea floor and are reaffirming various geological objects that exist on the sea floor," he said. "And they are taking a look at the boundary and what exactly it looks like.”
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2 comments
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a very nice interview, nice to see a de-politiced speaker, speaking about the facts. There is a use it or lose it aspect to border demarcation, there are the UN laws of the sea. Every body needs to do their part, if they want to secure their rights. This isn't itself the problem, the problem will come, if the bulk of resources are all legally Russian. Then you will see the US war efforts kicking in, to try to have another oil war like in Iraq. This is what Russia needs guard against, they need guard against the US going on another illegal oil crusade against us. This means a very secure and robust defence, that makes the gain not worth the pain for the US. This means that part of current oil revenues, must be used to secure future ones, safeguarding against the US oil thief.