Arctic Treasures
January 13, 2008
The thinner the ice gets, the sooner the treasures that lie beneath is can be unearthed.
Researchers believe there to be some 10 billion tons of oil and gas in the so-called Lomonosov Ridge, an underwater mountain range that stretches from Greenland to eastern Siberia -- precisely underneath the North Pole.
US scientists even presume that a quarter of the global crude oil and natural gas reserves lie beneath the Arctic ice. However, Rudolf Kudrass from the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) in Hanover says it's not likely that larger amounts of these natural resources are to be found more than 200 nautical miles away from Russia, Canada and the US.
Scuffle over the ocean floor
Nevertheless, it is precisely the area beyond this mark -- which, according to UN maritime law is also the boundary for conducting research, fishing and claiming natural resources -- that has peaked the interest of the five North Pole rivals.
There's just one catch: An exception can be made to the UN law if it can be proven that stone formations beyond the 200-nautical-mile border are part of a country's own continental shelf.
Russia, which sent a submarine to the North Pole last summer and rammed a Russian flag into the ocean floor, but also Canada and Denmark are looking for evidence.
The only way to prove a connection between the ridge and a neighboring continental shelf is by drilling and comparing bedrock, which can be very expensive in the Arctic, said Kudrass.
Drilling for proof
The Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, an international initiative, has already bored four times into the ridge -- at a cost of 12 million euros ($17.7 million). Since the drill had a maximum depth of 400 meters (about 1,300 feet) and could only collect sediment, it's still inconclusive as to who has claim to the ridge and the treasures it holds.
"The water there is around 4,000 meters deep so, technically speaking, it's new territory," said Christian Reichert, also from BGR. The energy prices would have to be extremely high for it to be worth investing there, he added.
What's more, drilling for oil or gas under the North Pole would have to be done under strict conditions as an oil spill at such low temperatures could have serious consequences for the environment. Not only could the oil seep into the porous ice cap, but the cold water contains fewer microorganisms to decompose the dangerous liquid.
Competitors will have to talk
In the end, the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf will decide which countries will be allowed to explore the ocean floor in the Arctic. The applicants will have to submit evidence claiming their right to it by 2014.
The five states won't get around negotiations on the matter, said maritime law expert Alexander Proelß from the University of Kiel, since the UN commission doesn't have the power to decide what should happen in case the territories overlap.
Some experts have predicted a scenario reminiscent of the Cold War if the race for Arctic access escalates.
Proelß, however, said that's unlikely as the Arctic treasure hunt will be tempered not only by the states' own commitment to cooperation but also by existing bodies like the UN continental shelf commission and the Arctic Council.