Pushing Arctic sovereignty

NWT premier urges Canadian government to be more vocal about northern claims; Coast Guard icebreaker sets out on 4-month mission

Gary Park

For Petroleum News

The Canadian government needs to be more assertive in advancing its Arctic sovereignty claims, using the Mackenzie Gas Project as a key element of that strategy, Northwest Territories Premier Floyd Roland told a conference of government leaders from the United States and Canadian northwest.

As foreign governments and industries increasingly turn their attention to Arctic natural resources, Ottawa should “step up and show some sovereignty” by funding projects such as air patrols, road construction and the MGP, he told the Pacific Northwest Economic Region conference in Calgary in July.

Roland said the major projects are beyond the financial capacity of the NWT government, leaving the Canadian government to make them happen.

He listed the MGP as the best hope on the horizon to stimulate economic development and said he expects the National Energy Board will deliver a positive verdict this fall when it releases the final regulatory recommendations.

But Roland conceded NWT business leaders are concerned that a competing project from Alaska to the Lower 48 could overtake the MGP.

“The fear that comes up at times is that the American government is very positive in talking about (the Alaska) pipeline and about incentives, while our Canadian government is much more reserved and hasn’t been as vocal in that area,” he said.

Alberta’s Sustainable Resource Minister Mel Knight said his government supports both the Alaska and Mackenzie projects because of the opportunity they create for Alberta to serve as a collection, processing, storage and distribution center for gas deliveries throughout North America.

Four-month mission

The mission will test ice, water and plankton by surveying the ocean bottom and submitting its data to the World Court as part of the long-term international effort to resolve Arctic boundaries.

Marc Rothwell, captain of the icebreaker, said the battle for jurisdiction will be won through a peaceful process and be based on scientific evidence.

Separately, Natural Resources Canada has been accused of breaking its promise to the Inuit to revise plans for seismic testing in Lancaster Sound, which lies between Devon Island and Baffin Island.

Okalik Eegeesuiak, president of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association, said NRC should now expect another outcry from Arctic community associations, which are troubled by the possible impact on marine wildlife if ever oil and natural gas exploration and development were approved.

Ron Elliott, the Arctic member of the Nunavut legislature, said there is no point to consultations if community concerns are ignored.

Donald James, chief geologist with the Canada-Nunavut Geoscience Office, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. in June that the original plans to gather seismic data in Lancaster Sound had been scaled back by “making some significant modifications” to the survey.

Researchers have said any seismic data could support efforts to have Lancaster Sound designated as a marine conservation area.

US, Canadian scientists map Arctic seafloor

The U.S. Geological Survey said in a July 26 press release that under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, coastal nations automatically have a continental shelf out 200 nautical miles, or to a maritime boundary.

However, nations are entitled to an “extended continental shelf” beyond 200 nautical miles if certain criteria are met.

USGS is the lead science agency for the United States in the 2010 mission.

“In this expedition, Canada and the U.S. are working together to determine the extended continental shelf in the Arctic to better determine where the Convention’s criteria can be met,” said USGS scientist Brian Edwards, chief scientist on the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy.

USGS said the Healy would sail Aug. 2 through Sept. 6, meeting up with the Canadian Coast Guard’s Louis S. St-Laurent at sea. The ships will alternately break through the Arctic sea ice for each other, with the Healy mapping the shape of the seafloor using a multibeam echo sounder and the Louis S. St-Laurent collecting multichannel seismic reflection and refraction data to determine sediment thickness.

USGS said this is the third year the U.S. and Canada have collaborated in extended continental shelf data collection in the Arctic. The U.S. has independently been collecting single ice breaker data in the Arctic since 2003.

“The Arctic Ocean is an area of great interest for science, resource conservation, and possible economic development,” said USGS scientist Deborah Hutchinson. “Because there is an area with considerable overlap between the U.S. and Canadian extended continental shelves, it makes sense to share data sets and work together in remote and challenging environments of the Arctic Ocean.”

USGS scientist Jonathan Childs, who is leading the seismic data operations team for the 2010 mission, said: “This is the last year working the Canada basin north of Alaska, and in 2011, we’ll collect data together with Canada in the area north of the Canada basin around the Alpha Ridge.”

—Petroleum News