Energy outlook for the Arctic: 2020 and beyond

• Published in: Polar Record
• Main Author: Ermida, Graça
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2015
• Subjects: General Earth and Planetary Sciences; Ecology; Geography, Planning and Development; Arctic; Canada; Norway; Polar Record
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0032247415000625; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0032247415000625

ABSTRACT At least four littoral countries have Arctic strategies that address energy issues. However, US, Canada, Russia and Norway strategies up to 2020 and beyond, reveal different interests in exploring Arctic resources. While Arctic oil and gas are of strategic importance to Russia and to Norway, Canada and the US seem content with continuing their current extraction predominantly south of the Arctic Circle. Despite the different approaches, the outcomes seem strangely similar. Indeed, despite the hype concerning the Arctic in the last decade, and for very diverse reasons, it is unlikely that any of these four countries will increase hydrocarbon production in the Arctic during the period under analysis. This was true even before the recent drop in oil prices. For all its potential, it is unclear what lies ahead for the region.