China eyes NWT for research

Focus on gathering data, examining technical aspects of developing oil, gas; Ramsay says ‘a lot of boxes ... to be checked off’

Gary Park

For Petroleum News

China is taking the first tentative steps towards adding Canada to its chain of polar research stations, with northern oil and natural gas resources high on its list of interests.

Although nothing formal has been submitted to the Canadian or Northwest Territories governments, Chinese scientists have put out the word that they would like to build an outpost at Hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk on the shore of the Beaufort Sea.

They view the Inuvialuit community of about 900 as the ideal location to examine the Arctic impact of climate change and to investigate the possibilities of oil and gas development.

NWT Industry Minister Dave Ramsay told Petroleum News that although no dates have been set for formal proposals from the Chinese, he is optimistic “we will see something sooner rather than later.”

He said the prospect of Chinese involvement in a research station is a sign that recent visits by himself and NWT Premier Bib McLeod to China “are going to pay off.”

“Obviously a lot of boxes have to be checked off” with the two governments, the Inuvialuit and Tuktoyaktuk and agreements reached in sharing research data and maximizing economic benefits before a project would receive a green light, Ramsay said.

Highway extension on track

The first indication that China is interest in building an observatory in the Canadian Arctic came from Yang Huigen, director-general of the Polar Institute of China.

Moves are also being made to allow a Chinese icebreaker to transit the Northwest Passage in 2016.

The Canadian government is already working on construction of an Arctic research station at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut - a C$142 million facility scheduled for opening in 2017, with annual funding of C$26 million for a team of scientists and C$7 million for research work over the 2015-2018.

These Chinese, having not-so-subtly suggested the C$7 million is “grossly insufficient” for work in the costly Arctic region and have dangled the prospect of additional funding from their own sources to give a boost to the Canadian work.

Jin Huijun, deputy director of China’s Arctic research program, said his country is interested not just in science, but also the technical aspects of commercial development of oil and gas.

Four Antarctica research stations

However, Yang noted that past efforts by China to launch science programs in Canada and Russia have “faced tremendous permitting obstacles,” prompting Beijing to explores the chances of establishing a permanent base in Canada.

Doug Matthews, who conducted research for the Northwest Territories government over 25 years and is now involved in studying the prospect of a deepwater port at Tuktoyaktuk, told the Globe and Mail that any moves to bring “a science presence (into the Canadian Arctic) would be most welcome” and could gather data that would be “useful for everybody.”

But the idea has also raised some doubts.

Matthews suggested the United States, especially Alaska, might have concerns, while others questioned allowing the Chinese to establish a presence in the Arctic when it has no geographical ties to the region and at a time when the larger issue of northern sovereignty has yet to be resolved.

David Hik, a University of Alberta researcher, said research facilities would be better incorporated into Canadian operations rather than as standalone stations or observatories, while Rob Huebert, an Arctic security specialist at the University of Calgary, questioned whether an “authoritarian” state should be allowed to establish a permanent presence in the Canadian Arctic unless the scientific work was undertaken in cooperation with Canada.