Norway Forced To Cancel Arctic Drilling Plans
Offshore oil Norway has pushed the oil and gas boundaries further north in recent years, opening up the Arctic for drilling. But low oil prices and environmental opposition are forcing Continue Reading
North Slope gas producers support switch to state-led Alaska LNG project
Cost estimates for the Alaska LNG Project have been shaved 20% or more, but the project is still not economic, its managers told state legislators in hearings that ended late Continue Reading
Why Arctic Oil Is Crucial For Russia’s Future
The Arctic – a cold wasteland that has shattered the expansion dreams of many an oil company by proving to be too difficult and too expensive to tackle. And, of Continue Reading
Performance versus prescription in new US Arctic rules: Fuel for Thought
In its new rules for oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, the US has taken the biggest step yet toward a performance-based system that sets clear standards, but allows Continue Reading
Alaska North Slope crude shipment leaves Valdez bound for South Korea: cFlow
A shipment of Alaska North Slope crude is making a rare voyage across the Pacific Ocean to South Korea, according to cFlow, Platts trade flow software. The Bahamian-flagged Suezmax, Tianlong Continue Reading
Costs of new US Arctic regulations may cool offshore oil production plans
The Obama administration unveiled final regulations for drilling in US Arctic waters, but questions remain about the future of oil production there. Will the Arctic be pulled out of the Continue Reading
The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Will Dry Up Without New Oil
Anchorage, Alaska For nearly four decades, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System has served as Alaska’s economic artery while providing the rest of the U.S. with a reliable supply of domestic oil Continue Reading
API Lobbies For Arctic Drilling To Remain On the Table
The American Petroleum Institute (API) and other energy industry groups are urging the U.S. government not to remove Arctic offshore drilling from the table through 2022, despite strong opposition over Continue Reading
Why The Arctic Oil Dream Is Not Over Yet
The race to discover oil and gas in virgin Arctic waters is now on, as Norway offered oil majors a lifeline on Wednesday by opening up what experts say could Continue Reading
Big Oil Pulls The Plug On Arctic Oil, Relinquishes Drilling Rights
The prospect of producing oil from the U.S. Arctic looks increasingly remote as the oil industry walks away from drilling leases. After Royal Dutch Shell pulled the plug on its Continue Reading
Oceana sees imminent end to Arctic drilling
With energy companies relinquishing their holdings, advocacy group Oceana said the end may be near for drilling in the Arctic waters offshore Alaska. Oceana said it’s found through a Freedom Continue Reading
Just How Much Energy Lies Beneath The Artic
The Arctic has been the fascination of many people for centuries. Hundreds of years ago, the Europeans saw the Arctic’s frigid waters as a potential gateway to the Pacific. The Continue Reading
Oil search in Arctic is safe claims Statoil
Ice, extreme temperatures and a vulnerable environment are all surmountable challenges as drillers set out to hunt for oil in a new area of Norway’s Arctic Barents Sea, according to Continue Reading
Russia pulls 10 millionth barrel of oil from Arctic north
Russian oil company Gazprom Neft said it reached a milestone with production at its Arctic Prirazlomnoye field with its 10 millionth barrel of oil. “The 10-millionth barrel of oil is Continue Reading
A Big Win for the Arctic Ocean
President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau announced an ambitious, broad array of initiatives that herald a new day in our cross-border partnership to combat dangerous climate change, transition to a Continue Reading
Oceana latest to call for end to Shell’s Alaska program
Conservation group Oceana became the second such organization to intervene in the consideration of Shell’s leases offshore Alaska on environmental grounds. Shell is appealing to the U.S. federal government to Continue Reading
Shell lease requests offshore Alaska face scrutiny
A group of environmental activists filed a challenge to leases held by Royal Dutch Shell in Alaskan waters, citing the need to act on behalf of the climate. Earthjustice, working Continue Reading
Transocean loses another rig contract early
Rig company Transocean said Monday its contract for the Polar Pioneer rig, deployed offshore Alaska, was canceled early by Royal Dutch Shell. The contract was set to expire in July. Continue Reading
Alaska Buys Out TransCanada Stake in LNG Project
Alaska paid $64.6 million to buy TransCanada Corp. TRP 1.24 % ’s stake in a proposed project to ship natural gas by pipeline from the state’s North Slope to an export terminal on the coast. The move, which was authorized by legislation passed by the state earlier this month, gives Alaska direct ownership in the project, along with partners BP BP 1.66 % PLC, ConocoPhillips COP 3.83 % and Exxon Mobil Corp. XOM 1.99 % It comes at a time when the outlook for demand for liquefied natural gas is uncertain amid a supply glut that has depressed once lofty spot market prices for the fuel. “By gaining an equal seat at the negotiating table, we are taking control of our destiny and making significant progress in our effort to deliver Alaska gas to the global market,” Alaska Gov. Bill Walker said in a statement Tuesday. The project, known […]
Italy’s Eni Set to Begin Arctic Oil Quest, Even as Others Abandon Field
ON GOLIAT OIL RIG IN THE BARENTS SEA—Even as energy companies retreat from exploration in the Arctic, Italy’s Eni SpA will soon open the taps on the northernmost offshore oil platform in the world, offering a glimmer of potential for crude in the region—though at a considerable cost. In a field in the Barents Sea nearly 300 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Eni is set to begin pumping at its Goliat platform before the end of this year. It would open a flow that will eventually reach 100,000 barrels a day and place Eni among a select group of oil producers in the region. The rig’s imminent launch underscores the continuing appeal of the Arctic, but at the same time highlights the challenges of operating in a frontier region where crude is difficult and expensive to extract. The huge cost of pushing ahead with such projects, amid the […]
Murkowksi: White House an Alaskan oil killer
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, chair of the Senate energy committee, says the White House is in part to blame for decisions made by major energy companies to leave Alaska offshore programs behind. File photo by Kevin Dietsch/UPI ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Nov. 18 (UPI) — It’s the president’s fault that another major energy company has folded up its tent and left Alaska behind, the chair of the Senate energy committee said. Norwegian energy company Statoil announced it was abandoning its leases in the Chukchi Sea and closing its offices in Anchorage, Alaska. Statoil’s decision followed a similar move by Royal Dutch Shell. "I am very concerned that, for the second time in as many months, a major company has decided to walk away from Alaska because of the uncertainty surrounding our federal government’s support for Arctic development," U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski , R-Alaska, chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural […]
Statoil Follows Shell in Quitting Alaska
Explaining its decision, Statoil said its exploration activities in the Chukchi Sea couldn’t compete with projects elsewhere. “Solid work has been carried out, but given the current outlook we could not support continued efforts to mature these opportunities,” said Statoil’s head of exploration, Tim Dodson. The Norwegian oil and gas producer, which entered Alaska in February 2008, said it would close its office in Anchorage following recent exploration results in neighboring leases, and exit all its operations in the Chukchi Sea. The Chukchi Sea is believed to hold about 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil, but weak oil prices are reducing companies’ appetite for high-cost exploration in Arctic frontier areas, where they face long transportation distances, a challenging environment and lack of infrastructure. Shell announced on Sep. 28 that it would stop its exploration activity in Alaska for the foreseeable future, as its discoveries were insufficient to warrant further […]
Russia sees Chinese role in arctic oil
Russian minister says China may play an active role in exploring for oil and natural gas reserves in the arctic region. Photo by longtaildog/Shutterstock MOSCOW, Nov. 16 (UPI) — Russia’s deputy energy minister said Monday an invitation to China was on the table to help with energy exploration strategies in the arctic. A lack of infrastructure in the arctic north of Russia is putting a moderate throttle on the region’s oil production. Russian Deputy Energy Minister Anatoly Yanovsky told state news agency RIA Novosti there were talks between Russian oil company Rosneft and China on working in the arctic to enhance operations there. "The topic is in discussion at the company level," he said. "As far as I know, Rosneft is negotiating [with China.]" In Russia’s far north Yamal Peninsula, full-year oil production is waning by nearly 4 percent from last year to around 152 million barrels. Gazprom Neft […]
Oil output from Russian arctic waning
Russian official says a lack of infrastructure in the far north is leading to a decline in oil production. Photo by NASA/UPI SALEKHARD, Russia, Nov. 9 (UPI) — A lack of infrastructure in the arctic north of Russia is putting a moderate throttle on the region’s oil production, an area governor said. Dmitry Kobylkin, governor of the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, told Russian news agency Itar-TASS regional production could grow along with regional development, but the lack of infrastructure was curbing year-on-year output. Last year, he said an estimated 158 million barrels of oil were produced from the Yamal Peninsula . Full-year 2015 is expected at around 152 million barrels. "The drop in oil production, despite the fact that there are sufficient reserves in the area, is caused only by infrastructure constraints that hamper commercial development of new deposits," the governor said. Oil work in the pristine arctic environment has […]
Shell mulls options offshore Alaska
Despite a series of setbacks off the coast of Alaska, Shell said it’s eager to protect its leases and assets in the region. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement THE HAGUE, Netherlands, Oct. 29 (UPI) — Despite regulatory and exploration setbacks for the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska, Royal Dutch Shell said it was keen on protecting its regional assets. The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in August awarded Shell with one permit to start drilling an exploration well into oil-bearing zones in the Burger prospect in the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. A federal study of the Burger prospect from 2004 described it as likely the largest reserve pool of its kind off the Alaskan coast Last month, Shell said it found evidence of oil and natural gas in its Burger exploration well, but not enough to warrant […]
The North Slope puzzle: more gas means less oil
During this week’s special session in Juneau, most lawmakers have been focused on whether the state should take a larger stake in the Alaska LNG project, which would build a natural gas pipeline from the North Slope. But on Monday afternoon (Oct. 26), the Senate Resources Committee met to hear about another crucial, if little-discussed issue: if you tap the state’s supply of natural gas, you’ll end up with less oil. Cathy Foerster of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, put it this way: “Taking the gas from an oil field…before all the oil has been produced, will – will , all caps – cause some of that oil to be lost,” Foerster said. “That’s not my opinion. That’s not somebody’s prediction…When you take the gas out of an oil field, and there’s oil still left, some of that oil is unrecoverable. Period.” That’s because the natural gas […]
Deepwater Horizon ripples help sink US Arctic drilling
Investigators into the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster in the US Gulf of Mexico often lament the failure of Congress to pass any meaningful safety-related measures informed by the lessons learned from the tragedy. But make no mistake — the ripples of Deepwater Horizon have been felt by the industry and can be clearly seen in the decision of Shell to abandon its offshore Alaska exploration as well as the canceling of Arctic lease sales for the remainder of the current US five-year leasing plan. The Macondo Effect, if you will, can also be seen in more subtle ways, as a close reading of the recent 300-plus page final consent decree between BP and federal and state governments reveals. Shell’s decision to indefinitely suspend exploration offshore Alaska may have been sparked mainly by the disappointing results from the one well spud in the Chukchi Sea. But the company made it […]
US puts a plug on Arctic oil exploration
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Interior Department curbing future Arctic offshore drilling
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Interior Department says it will not extend Arctic offshore leases held by Royal Dutch Shell and other companies in Arctic waters off Alaska’s northern coast. Interior Secretary Sally Jewell says she’s also cancelling new lease sales tentatively scheduled for the next two years. The decision significantly reduces the chances for future Arctic offshore drilling. Shell announced Sept. 28 it would cease exploration in the Chukchi (chuk-CHEE’) and Beaufort seas after spending upward of $7 billion on Arctic exploration. The company cited disappointing results from a well drilled in the Chukchi and the unpredictable federal regulatory environment. Federal leases in the Beaufort Sea are due to expire in 2017 and in the Chukchi in 2020. Jewell says that in light of Shell’s announcement, it doesn’t make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half.
U.S. cancels Arctic offshore lease sale after Shell drops interest
The U.S. Interior Department on Friday said it would cancel two potential Arctic offshore lease sales after Royal Dutch Shell PLC ( RDSa.L ) said that it was not interested in those leases. "In light of Shell’s announcement, the amount of acreage already under lease and current market conditions, it does not make sense to prepare for lease sales in the Arctic in the next year and a half," Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in a statement. Shell said last month it was giving up its Arctic search for oil after failing to find enough crude oil. (Reporting By Patrick Rucker; Editing by Sandra Maler )
Repsol Drilling Delay Adds to Oil Patch Chill on Alaska Shore
A restructuring of Repsol SA’s Alaska drilling project is adding to the state’s woes in the midst of the biggest oil slump since 2009. Repsol sold stakes in development and exploratory acreage in northern Alaska to its partner, Armstrong Oil & Gas Inc., for more than $800 million, according to a statement from Armstrong. The companies will defer the 2015-2016 drilling campaign initially scheduled to start this winter as part of the restructuring. As many as 500 workers on the state’s North Shore could lose their jobs in the restructuring, according to Anchorage, Alaska-based KTUU television station , citing comments from Repsol spokeswoman Jan Sieving. The restructuring comes a month after ConocoPhillips announced it would cut about 10 percent of its workforce, including 120 jobs in Alaska. The state has been hit hard by crude prices falling more than 50 percent from last year’s peak amid a global glut. […]
Industry praises Shell’s arctic safety record
Shell praised by industry peers for safe 2015 campaign in the arctic waters off the coast of Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) — Despite disappointing results for Shell in arctic Alaskan waters, industry leaders say the $7 billion campaign was a success in terms of safe operations. Royal Dutch Shell said it was dismantling its exploratory operations in the arctic Chukchi Sea after drilling uncovered no commercial prospects of oil and natural gas. Environmental activists praised the end to a campaign they viewed as risky, with Greenpeace calling for a moratorium in future arctic programs. Marvin Odum, director of Shell’s exploration and production division in North America, said this year’s program was safe in every aspect of operations. "Contrary to the previous rhetoric of anti-development activists, the 2015 Chukchi Sea exploration season provides further evidence that drilling can be […]
Shell Exits Arctic as Oil Slump Forces Industry to Retrench
Photo Shell had some mishaps in Alaska, such as when its floating drill rig Kulluk, center, ran aground in 2012. Credit James Brooks/Kodiak Daily Mirror, via Associated Press Royal Dutch Shell ended its expensive and fruitless nine-year effort to explore for oil in the Alaskan Arctic on Monday in another sign that the entire industry is trimming its ambitions in the wake of collapsing oil prices. The decision came after one well drilled by Shell this summer came up mostly dry, and environmental groups declared a major victory. But at a time when global markets are glutted with oil, it also confirmed the major oil companies’ increasing willingness to turn their backs on the most expensive new drilling prospects in the Gulf of Mexico and suspended plans for new projects in Canada’s oil sands . Shell spent more than $7 billion on its Alaska venture. The industry has cut […]
Shell’s Arctic Withdrawal Adds to Cold Spell for Alaskan Crude
Alaska, once the workhorse of the U.S. oil industry, is being put out to pasture. Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s decision to end its $7 billion search for oil in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Alaska is the latest bit of bad news for a state that went from producing one in every four barrels in the U.S. to an afterthought during the shale boom. “Alaska used to be the No. 1 oil producer in the U.S.,” said Carl Larry, head of oil and gas for Frost & Sullivan LP in Houston. “Now there are a lot easier places and better ways to find and produce oil.” Alaskan oil production topped out in 1988 at more than 2 million barrels a day. It’s declined steadily since then, falling below 500,000 last year for the first time since the late 1970s, according to the Energy Information Administration. Aging reservoirs […]
Shell’s Alaska Exit Means Arctic Oil Reserves Remain Locked Away
The inglorious end to Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s $7 billion search for oil in Alaska means billions of barrels of crude will probably remain locked away in Arctic waters from the U.S. to Russia — at least as long as prices remain near $50 a barrel. Shell abandoned exploration off Alaska for the “foreseeable future” on Monday after it failed to find meaningful quantities of oil or natural gas. In Russia, sanctions over Ukraine have halted partnerships aimed at exploring offshore in the Arctic, while exploration in Greenland has been on hold since 2012 and activity in Norway is slowing. “This effectively ends exploration for new Arctic oil until prices recover,” Ahmed Ben Salem, a Paris-based analyst with Oddo & Cie, said by phone. “Shell was the only company with a strong enough balance sheet that was currently exploring in the Arctic.” In a world where OPEC members control […]
Sanctions, Oil Slump Delay Russian Offshore Drilling 2-3 Years
Russia’s state-run energy giants Rosneft OJSC and Gazprom PJSC are delaying some offshore drilling by two to three years because of sanctions and weaker oil prices, according to the country’s Ministry of Natural Resources. The nation will drill two offshore wells in 2017, down from an original plan for 14, Denis Khramov, deputy minister, said Tuesday at a conference in Russia’s Far East. The delay means 28 wells will be drilled in 2019 instead of 19, he said U.S. and European Union sanctions prompted by Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis have cut access to offshore-drilling technology and equipment, Khramov said. Russia’s efforts to tap its offshore resources, which are estimated at 14 billion to 15 billion metric tons of oil equivalent, are lagging other countries, Khramov said. Russia drilled 11 subsea wells last year, compared with 57 in Norway, he said. The ministry this year approved drilling delays […]
Shell abandons contentious Arctic exploration after poor results
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Shell to Cease Oil Exploration in Alaskan Arctic After Disappointing Drilling Season
The oil and gas company pressed ahead with its multibillion-dollar exploration program offshore Alaska this summer despite tumbling oil prices and strident opposition from environmental groups concerned that drilling in the region could cause an ecological disaster. The Arctic—one of the few remaining unexplored oil frontiers—was a prize too great to simply walk away from, but the company has changed its mind after the Burger J well it drilled in the Chukchi Sea this summer only showed traces of oil and gas. “This is a clearly disappointing exploration outcome for this part of the basin,” said Marvin Odum, Shell’s upstream head in the Americas. And though in the longer term, Shell sees important exploration potential in the basin, it said it would cease further exploration offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future. The Anglo-Dutch company expects to book charges in its accounts as a result of this decision, and will […]
Shell Halts Alaska Oil Drilling After Disappointing Well Result
Royal Dutch Shell Plc will stop exploring offshore Alaska, citing high costs and “challenging” regulation, six weeks after it got approval to fully drill a well in the Arctic waters off the U.S. state. Shell forecast it will take related financial charges, according to a company statement on Monday. The balance sheet carrying value of its Alaska position is about $3 billion, with additional future contractual commitments of about $1.1 billion, The Hague, Netherlands-based energy explorer said. Shell is abandoning exploration after winning approval in August to drill the Burger J well in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea. Success would have brought the company back to an area it left three years ago after a rig ran aground. That incident helped prompt the Obama administration to revisit U.S. rules for exploration in the region, while environmental groups have long-protested Shell’s plans, saying a spill could cause an ecological disaster. Indications of […]
IEA sees high risk in arctic oil
Shell has permit to start drilling into oil-bearing zones in the Burger prospect off the Alaskan coast, described once as one of the bright spots in North America. IEA says risks are too great at the moment. Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. LONDON, Sept. 18 (UPI) — The incoming executive director of the International Energy Agency said drilling for oil in arctic waters may be geologically and economically prohibitive. "I believe that arctic oil is not for today, and not for tomorrow — maybe for the day after tomorrow," Fatih Birol told The Guardian newspaper in London. "It’s geologically difficult, technologically difficult, lots of environmental challenges, and the cost of production is very, very high, especially if you look at the current oil price levels." The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement in August awarded Shell with one permit to start drilling an […]
Antarctica to Melt Without Curbs on Fossil Fuels, Study Finds
Burning all the Earth’s remaining coal, oil and natural gas would trigger enough warming to melt the entire Antarctic ice shelf, eventually obliterating coastal regions around the world, researchers said in a report Friday. That worst-case scenario would be a long way off — several thousand years, according to computer simulations published by the journal Science Advances. Still, the results are a reminder of the potentially cataclysmic impacts of an Antarctic meltdown, according to the German, U.S. and U.K. researchers. About 1 billion people live in coastal areas that would be swamped if the entire ice sheet was lost, they said. “The west Antarctic ice sheet may already have tipped into a state of unstoppable ice loss, whether as a result of human activity or not,” Anders Levermann, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, said in a statement. “If we want to pass on cities like Tokyo, […]
Melting Ice Isn’t Opening Arctic to Oil Bonanza
Photo An Orthodox cross in Teriberka, Russia, a poor village on the Barents Sea that the Kremlin had hoped would be a hub for the expanded operations of its energy giant, Gazprom. But despite the melting ice, getting oil and gas out of the Arctic remains a daunting challenge. Credit James Hill for The New York Times TERIBERKA, Russia — The warming Arctic should already have transformed this impoverished fishing village on the coast of the Barents Sea. The Kremlin spent billions in the last decade in hopes of turning it into a northern hub of its global energy powerhouse, Gazprom. It was once the most ambitious project planned in the Arctic Ocean, but now there is little to show for it aside from a shuttered headquarters and an enormous gravel road carved out of the windblown coastline like a scar. “There are plans,” said Viktor A. Turchaninov, the […]
Shell president: ‘Oil will be required for a long time’
The president of Shell Oil Co. said exploratory drilling off Alaska’s northwest coast is going well despite stormy weather last week that caused the company to halt operations for a few days. And in an interview this week with The Associated Press Marvin Odum said he expects further protests against the company’s plans for Arctic drilling like the ones in Seattle and Portland where activists in kayaks tried to block Shell vessels. Arctic offshore drilling is bitterly opposed by environmental groups that say a spill cannot be cleaned in ice-choked waters and that industrial activity will harm polar bears, walrus and ice seals already harmed by diminished sea ice. In Seattle, Shell faced protests on the water by “kayaktivists” upset over the company staging equipment in the city. In Portland, Oregon, Greenpeace USA protesters hung from the St. Johns Bridge to delay a Shell support vessel, from heading to […]
Obama wants new $1 billion Arctic icebreaker by 2020
Obama is expected to say that the government should buy a heavy icebreaker by 2020, when routine Arctic marine transit is expected, instead of the previous goal of 2022. He also will propose to start planning for additional icebreakers. The White House said the move is required for safety in the changing Arctic and to keep up with Russia. The U.S. Coast Guard used to have seven icebreakers, but the fleet has dwindled to three creaky vessels, only one of which is a heavy duty vessel, the White House said. “Russia, on the other hand, has 40 icebreakers and another 11 planned or under construction,” the White House said. During the past year, Obama has taken steps to seal off parts of Alaska from new drilling, but environmental groups have strongly criticized a recent decision to allow Royal Dutch Shell to drill off the northwest coast of the state. […]
Alaska seeks balanced energy agenda
Alaska facing a mutlimillion dollar deficit as most oil pipelines running far below peak capacity. Photo by Heather Snow/Shutterstock ANCHORAGE, Alaska, Sept. 1 (UPI) — Alaska needs to exploit its vast natural resources, but do so in a way that heeds the growing threats of climate changes, the state’s lieutenant governor said. President Barack Obama is in Alaska touting the dual agenda of taking the steps needed to slow the impacts of climate change while ensuring state revenue from the oil and gas industry remains durable. Obama’s plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions while at the same time signing off on arctic drilling permits for Royal Dutch Shell has earned both praise and condemnation. Speaking at an Alaskan arctic conference in Anchorage, Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott said the state needs to exploit the oil and gas resources it has, but in a way that recognizes the industry’s impact on […]
Obama to Call for More Icebreakers in Arctic as U.S. Seeks Foothold
ANCHORAGE — President Obama on Tuesday will propose speeding the acquisition and building of new Coast Guard icebreakers that can operate year-round in the nation’s polar regions, part of an effort to close the gap between the United States and other nations, especially Russia, in a global competition to gain a foothold in the rapidly changing Arctic. On the second day of a three-day trip to Alaska to highlight the challenge of climate change and call for a worldwide effort to address its root causes, Mr. Obama’s proposals will touch on one of its most profound effects. The retreat of Arctic sea ice has created opportunities for shipping, tourism, mineral exploration and fishing — and with it, a rush of marine traffic that is bringing new difficulties. “Arctic ecosystems are among the most pristine and understudied in the world, meaning increased commercial activity comes with significant risks to the […]
U.S. Is Seen as Laggard as Russia Asserts Itself in Warming Arctic
Continue reading the main story Slide Show Slide Show|9 Photos A New Race for the Arctic A New Race for the Arctic CreditRuth Fremson/The New York Times ABOARD COAST GUARD CUTTER ALEX HALEY, in the Chukchi Sea — With warming seas creating new opportunities at the top of the world, nations are scrambling over the Arctic — its territorial waters, transit routes and especially its natural resources — in a rivalry some already call a new Cold War. When President Obama travels to Alaska on Monday, becoming the first president to venture above the Arctic Circle while in office, he hopes to focus attention on the effects of climate change on the Arctic. Some lawmakers in Congress, analysts, and even some government officials say the United States is lagging behind other nations, chief among them Russia , in preparing for the new environmental, economic and geopolitical realities facing the […]
Statoil’s Polarled pipeline becomes first to cross Arctic Circle
Norwegian energy company Statoil passes Arctic Circle during construction phase of new Polarled natural gas pipeline. Image courtesy of Statoil. STAVANGER, Norway, Aug. 21 (UPI) — Norwegian energy company Statoil said Friday a pipelaying vessel passed a milestone with construction of the Polarled gas pipeline crossing the Arctic Circle. "The Polarled gas pipeline crossed 66 degrees and 33 minutes north of the equator and became the first pipeline to cross the Arctic Circle," the company said in a statement. "This pipeline will open an entirely new gas highway from the Norwegian Sea to Europe." Statoil started the process of laying the 300-mile long pipeline from the Aasta Hansteen natural gas field in the Norwegian Sea in March. Its aim is to cross the Arctic Circle to a gas processing plant in the northwest of the country. It’s the first large-diameter pipeline of its kind to be placed in waters […]
Make Shell disclose offshore drilling risks, Senate members demand
Eleven US Senate Democrats and Independent Bernard Sanders (Vt.) asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission to make Royal Dutch Shell PLC disclose to the public and investors inherent risks offshore oil drilling poses if there is a spill or other environmental accident. They said in an Aug. 18 letter to SEC Chair Mary Jo White that Shell “provided investors with boilerplate generalities about the potential for an accident and insisted that the company has a sufficient plan for response and clean-up” following problems it encountered drilling off Alaska in 2012. Saying they are worried that other companies drilling for oil and gas on the US Outer Continental Shelf also haven’t disclosed potential risks of drilling off the US Gulf, Atlantic, and Pacific coasts as well as in the Arctic, the senators asked that the SEC fully review the companies’ plans. “America has never been more energy secure with […]
Clinton splits from Obama over offshore oil drilling in Arctic
Sign up for quick access to a wealth of global business news, including: Clinton splits from Obama over offshore oil drilling in Arctic Newspaper + Premium online Newspaper + Premium online Premium Full FT.com subscription Premium Full FT.com subscription Standard Full news & archive Standard Full news & archive Trial Try Premium online Trial Try Premium online Price Monthly Annual $66.30 $11.77 per week $53.00 $9.25 per week $36.00 $6.45 per week $1.00 for 4 weeks $1.00 for 4 weeks FT Alphaville plus selected FT blogs yes yes yes yes Unlimited FT.com article access yes yes yes yes Unlimited mobile and tablet access yes yes yes yes Unlimited fast FT yes yes yes yes 5 year company financials archive yes yes yes yes The LEX column yes yes no yes ePaper access yes yes no yes Three exclusive weekly emails yes yes no yes Daily newspaper delivery yes no […]