Arctic warms while Europe and L48 freeze 01/17/2010
Unusual weather pattern sweeps frigid air south while warmer than normal conditions in North Atlantic reduce rate of sea ice formation
Newsreel shots of blizzards in central Europe, the sight of snow storms in Oklahoma and reports of Arctic-like temperatures in Scotland and Scandinavia may leave people wondering what the weather has...

Arctic sea ice all but gone 12/06/2009
A leading Canadian ice scientist has challenged studies claiming Arctic sea ice is making a modest comeback from an unprecedented retreat in 2007. David Barber, research chair in Arctic System Science...

Melt could cost trillions 12/06/2009
Pipelines, roads, buildings threatened by extreme temperature swings in Arctic
A meltdown in northern Canada is endangering pipelines, roads and buildings - including C$5 trillion worth of aging infrastructure - if climate change continues unabated in the decades ahead, says a r...

The Explorers 2009: Northern Alaska and Arctic offshore 11/15/2009
In 1968 the discovery of the giant Prudhoe Bay field, the first field to be discovered on Alaska's North Slope and among the 20 largest oil fields ever discovered worldwide, triggered a northern Alask...

A new Arctic paradigm 11/08/2009
Moving farther north in Arctic offshore stimulates drilling safety innovation
The potentially huge but largely untapped oil and gas resources of the Arctic offshore have become a major focus of attention, as access to new resources in traditional petroleum provinces has become...

Salazar says he's in no hurry on decision 09/27/2009
Public comment period closes Sept. 21 on Department of Interior's five-year OCS plan; Parnell pushing for Alaska OCS development
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Sept. 17 he's in no hurry to make a decision on whether to allow offshore drilling in federal waters off Alaska and other states, a remark that disappointed advocat...

Arctic Directory: CGGVeritas awarded two new BP seismic contracts 09/20/2009
CGGVeritas said Jan. 23 that it has been awarded two long-term seismic acquisition contracts by BP to undertake multiple high-end marine 3-D, wide-azimuth and 4-D seismic surveys. The first contract e...

Arctic Directory: A shared Arctic effort 09/20/2009
Companies must work together to conquer Far North, speakers tell OTC audience
No aspiring oil company can be an island when it comes to living and working in Arctic conditions, according to those in the know. So complex and formidable are the challenges that sharing information...

Arctic Directory: Investing in the Arctic 09/20/2009
Big resource, big opportunity, big challenge in Far North outrank many hot spots
The Arctic is said to outrank many of the globe's current exploration hot spots, including Brazil and West Africa. But don't expect companies to flock to the Far North anytime soon, especially at a ti...

USCG deploys drifting buoy in Arctic 09/13/2009
As an initial exercise in a program to deploy a network of buoys for scientific research data collection in the Arctic, a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft based in Kodiak has dropped an ocean drifting...

The hunt for GHG emissions in the Arctic 09/06/2009
As global climate change warms the Arctic, could vast quantities of carbon dioxide and methane, both thought to be potent greenhouse gases, be released from frozen organic material, or from disassocia...

The winds of change in Arctic Alaska 08/30/2009
Politicians seek views on future Arctic policies in the face of climate change, industrial development and environmental protection
As the Arctic warms, the summer sea ice retreats and evolving weather patterns disrupt communities in northern Alaska, opinions on how to respond to the changes sweeping across the northernmost part o...

Arctic Ocean ice melting in summer heat 08/16/2009
The Arctic Ocean has given up tens of thousands more square miles of ice on Aug. 9 in a relentless summer of melt, with scientists watching through satellite eyes for a possible record low polar ice c...

Eni aims for 2010 oil 08/16/2009
Italian firm submits revised plan for Nikaitchuq field, cites work already done
Back in February, managers for Eni Petroleum were explaining to Alaska industry regulators how plunging oil prices and other complications had shifted their fast-track Nikaitchuq oil field development...

Begich introduces Arctic bills in Senate 08/09/2009
Calls for investment in science, coordinated research; cites costs of replacing public infrastructure; asks for treaty ratification
Alaska Sen. Mark Begich used his maiden speech Aug. 3 to call for addressing changes in the Arctic brought on by global warming. The freshman senator announced the introduction of seven bills aimed a...

Court says only Alaska on hold in proceeding against OCS sales 08/02/2009
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has responded to a May 11 request by the U.S. Department of the Interior for clarification of the ramifications of an April 17 court ord...

BP in Alaska: North to Alaska 07/12/2009
BP's trail to Prudhoe Bay: Opened office in 1959, geologists arrived in 1960
Alaska was first mentioned within BP in a 1952 world survey of oil prospects compiled by the company's exploration department in London. The north of Alaska was included because of oil and gas discove...

New ship to support Shell drilling 06/21/2009
dison Chouest vessel to handle anchors for Arctic offshore rig, provide 100 jobs, feature many environmental safeguards
Because of pending court challenges, Shell is having a heck of a time getting its offshore drilling campaign under way in the Arctic Ocean off Alaska. But the company continues making big investments...

Investing in the Arctic 06/21/2009
Companies must work together to conquer Far North, speakers tell OTC audience
No aspiring oil company can be an island when it comes to living and working in Arctic conditions, according to those in the know. So complex and formidable are the challenges that sharing information...

Investing in the Arctic 06/14/2009
Big resource, big opportunity, big challenge in Far North outrank many hot spots
The Arctic is said to outrank many of the globe's current exploration hot spots, including Brazil and West Africa. But don't expect companies to flock to the Far North anytime soon, especially at a...

Thomson legal battle rages 06/07/2009
Palin sounds conciliatory note at Exxon lunch; hails project launch, local hiring
ExxonMobil has resumed drilling at Point Thomson after many years, and Gov. Sarah Palin actually had some words of praise in early June for a company she has jabbed from time to time. But these develo...

New report addresses changing Arctic 05/31/2009
Commonwealth North report recommends U.S. actions to reflect increasing international interest and opportunity in the Arctic region
Commonwealth North, a private organization which provides information about Alaska public policy issues, has published a report called "Why the Arctic Matters," in which experts on the Arctic have put...

Not free-for-all land grab 05/31/2009
Stephen de Boer: Continental shelf claims following orderly legal process
Contrary to popular opinion, the current flurry of activity around offshore continental shelf claims under the international Convention on the Law of the Sea is an orderly legal process, and not some...

Our Arctic Neighbors: UN approves Norway's offshore borders 05/10/2009
Norway has made certain that its claims to oil and gas resources in the Arctic are not going to disappear down the Loop Hole or the Banana Hole. The Loop Hole in the Barents Sea, the Banana Hole in th...

Winter ice cover may herald higher melt 04/19/2009
Multiyear ice being flushed from the Arctic Ocean in the winter is not being replaced fast enough to prevent summer ice loss
The opening of the Northwest Passage in the past couple of years has provided dramatic evidence of the reduction in Arctic sea ice coverage, with the sea ice minimum extent reaching a record low level...