Hilary Clinton has outlined her proposed create climate change agenda with Canada and Mexico centered around clean energy investment. [The Guardian] Scientists have estimated that breaking Arctic permafrost could contain 1,700 gigatons (which is equal to 1.7 trillion tons) of carbon, accelerating climate change. [The Washington Post] Oil prices fell back into the red on… Keep reading →
The oil and gas industry is pushing a government study that they say vindicates their push to lift the nation’s 40-year-old ban on oil exports. [The Washington Examiner] The Sabine Pass LNG terminal will go live later this year, revealing innovative techniques that will launch the U.S. as a net exporter of natural gas. [Bloomberg]… Keep reading →
Why the US should strive for a Holistic Regional Framework on Sustainable Offshore Natural Resource Development Over the weekend, the US assumed the two-year rotating chairmanship of the Arctic Council, an intergovernmental forum, at the conclusion of the 2015 ministerial meeting in Iqaluit (Canada). The US has outlined a policy agenda with a focus on… Keep reading →
At the next Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting held in Iqaluit, Nunavut (Canada) on 24-25 April 2015, the US will take over chairmanship of the Arctic Council from Canada for the next two years until May 2017. This comes at a time of unprecedented geopolitical volatility and tension – at least since the end of the Cold… Keep reading →
News that the Interior Department has reaffirmed Shell’s right to drill in the Chukchi Sea off the Alaskan coast is an important step toward to Arctic energy development. While the company still must secure individual drilling permits and overall federal approval of its exploration plan, this week’s action advances the larger objective of safe and… Keep reading →
Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge regained national attention over the weekend when the Obama administration announced plans to prevent oil and gas drilling along the coastal plain, which is expected to contain considerable hydrocarbon resources. Senator Lisa Murkowski and state officials vehemently oppose the action and are digging in for a fight. Murkowski, Gov. Bill… Keep reading →
A previous article explained why the Arctic is currently a central theme in world politics. Canadian Professor Michael Byers established this thesis during a highly informative event hosted by the Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) – entitled “Passing the Arctic Council Torch” – that brought together leading Arctic experts from government and academia… Keep reading →
News coverage of the Arctic has been steadily growing in tandem with the rising importance of the region in recent years. The focus of international politics often tends to revolve around energy security within the context of a global scramble for resources to keep individual countries’ economic growth engines humming. In view of the possibilities… Keep reading →
Future oil and natural gas production as well as exploration is expected to take place in some of the most remote and inaccessible places in the world. Reservoirs with the highest commercial potential are seen to be located offshore in deep waters or in the Arctic. Both “frontier” areas have challenges in common such as… Keep reading →
Shell spent billions of dollars and significant political capital to obtain the licenses and approvals required to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Alaska. A US appeals court recently ruled the original lease sale flawed, which threw new obstacles in the company’s path toward offshore Alaskan oil and gas development. The recent… Keep reading →
