Scramble to unlock Arctic's energy potential

With huge natural resources under its melting ice pack, the Arctic has moved into the front line in the scramble for new energy supplies. Addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, analysts and key industry figures argued that unlocking the region's potential could help ease global concerns over assured energy supplies. But difficult questions remain about the impact on the environment and the fraught subject of exactly who owns what, with up to eight countries claiming some interest in the Arctic and others racing to catch up.

"It will never replace the Middle East" as an oil source, said Helge Lund, head of Norway's Statoil energy group, but "it has the potential to be a good supplement." Lund said the Arctic may account for as much as 25% of undiscovered oil and gas resources worldwide, the equivalent of 375 billion barrels. Analysts say the Arctic is highly attractive because it is closer to Europe and the United States, reducing transportation costs, and offers the prospect of more stability and supply security than the volatile Middle East. Moreover, global warming has reduced Arctic sea ice - which last year was the lowest on record - and opened the way for increased marine transport and access to natural resources.

Eight nations - Canada, Denmark (via Greenland), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Russia and the United States - have Arctic interests. Of those, all bar Sweden and Finland enjoy Arctic coastlines, and border and sovereignty disputes, such as between Russia and Norway, Russia and the United States and the United States and Canada, are hampering cooperation.

Accident cuts power to parts of Russia

radioaustralia.net.au :

Gas supplies have been cut to parts of the Russian republic of Chechnya after an accident damaged a pipeline. Night-time temperatures in the Russian region have fallen to minus 20. Schools in the affected districts have been closed; Patients from local hospitals have been taken to their homes. But in many cases the residential heating has broken down, too. The authorities are investigating the cause of the damage.

Scientists discover frozen methane gas deposit off California

peakoil.com -> montereyherald.com :

Scientists have discovered an undersea deposit of frozen methane just off the Southern California coast. The size of the deposit is unknown but the researchers believe it to be substantial. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in tapping methane hydrates, ice-like crystals that form under seabeds and Arctic permafrost. Scientists estimate that the methane trapped in previously known frozen reservoirs around the globe could power the world for centuries. But finding the technology to mine such deposits has proved elusive.

Methane hydrates, which resemble sugar crystals, form over hundreds of thousands of years when methane gas and water are at freezing temperatures and under intense pressure. The hydrates contain methane, the primary component of clean-burning natural gas, in a highly concentrated form. By some estimates, they contain twice was much carbon energy than all other fossil fuels combined.

Although scientists say a new source of natural gas would provide a near-limitless energy source, some worry about the environmental effects of the gas. Gas hydrate deposits contain about three times the amount of methane currently in the atmosphere, and some scientists say an increase could lead to global warming and a significant change of the world's climate.

(2006-01-30 23:44:48 SGT) [Energy] Permalink

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