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| World Marketplace |
Frozen Plunder
Lionel Beehner
11/01/2007
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The North Pole, or at least the
mineral-rich seabed beneath it, is up for grabs. A popular topic of geopolitical
discussion holds that global warming will slowly melt away the polar ice caps,
and what was once an impenetrable frozen landmass may soon be opened up to exploration, commercial fishing and, most importantly, offshore drilling.
The region’s abundance of untapped oil and gas reserves has
northern nations and the energy sector scrambling for a piece of the financial
pie.
Analysts predict this gold rush could have profound effects on
global energy markets, particularly as reliable supplies of oil grow scarcer.
But they caution that tapping into the Arctic’s resources remains a risky
venture, not least because of technological hurdles. Nor is drilling beneath the
North Pole cost-effective at current global oil prices. This has done little to
slow the race to lay claim to some—or all—of the region and its wealth. In
August, Russia sent a pair of Mir submarines miles beneath the ice to gather
geological data from an underwater ridge Moscow claims is a continuation of its
continental shelf. Just to add a bit of theatricality, the Russians planted a
titanium version of their tricolor flag along the Arctic seabed, a
man-walks-on-moon gesture that sparked similar missions by other nations with a
commercial stake in the region.
A Ridge Runs Through It
A 2000 U.S. Geological Survey study estimated that as much as
one-quarter of the world’s undiscovered energy reserves lies beneath the Arctic
ice cap. Although some experts say the figure may be inflated, they agree that
billions of dollars could be at stake if the region’s energy resources are ever
developed (not to mention the millions saved in shipping costs if the Northwest
Passage—linking the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, via the Arctic—were ever
realized).
The Arctic’s most sought-after prize is the Lomonosov Ridge, a
triangular swath of seabed roughly the size of Western Europe that Russia
insists is an extension of its Siberian continental shelf. (Denmark claims the
ridge is part of Greenland.) Moscow’s claim is motivated by potential
petrodollars. After all, Russia’s Institute of Oceanology estimates the ridge
may contain as much as 10 billion tons of oil and gas reserves, not to mention
minerals like tin, manganese and gold. But the Russians must first
scientifically prove the ridge belongs to them.
TOP VIEW
With global warming melting the polar ice caps, numerous countries
are scrambling to seize the Arctic’s
abundant oil and gas deposits. Although the cost of extracting these
reserves would be exorbitantly expensive, geopolitical strategists say that nations near the region can scarcely afford to let their neighbors claim exclusive rights to whatever may be extractable. |
According to the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention, which Russia
ratified in 1997, nations are allowed 12 miles of offshore territory, in
addition to a 200-mile economic zone, which allows them exclusive rights to
drill for hydrocarbons and other resources. The treaty—which the United States
has not signed, calling it unfavorable to U.S. interests—leaves open the
possibility of countries extending these zones, provided they can prove the
seabed beneath them constitutes a natural extension of their territorial
landmass.
But to win approval, nations must present their claims before
the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, a legal process that
can drag on for decades. In 2001, the commission shot down Russia’s previous
attempt to prove its territorial rights to the Arctic seabed (not enough
scientific evidence, it concluded). That decision provided the impetus for
Russia’s expedition in August, which was the most ambitious attempt so far to
explore the ocean floor beneath the North Pole. Armed with a nuclear-powered
icebreaker, a phalanx of scientists, including Russia’s famed explorer Artur
Chilingarov, plunged 14,000 feet below the ice to collect rock samples and other
geological data from the underwater ridge. The Kremlin praised the mission as an
achievement of moonwalk proportions—one small step for a Russian sub, one giant
leap for Russian science.
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