The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of March 18, 2019
New Chapter for Norway’s Historical Iron Mine
On March 19, world-famous mining company Sydvaranger AS announced that it finally got a license from the Norwegian government to restart its operations in Northern Norway. After going bankrupt in late 2015, the company has spent more than three years looking for an investment partner and negotiating new conditions with the Ministry of Trade and Industry. According to the official statement, Sydvaranger AS plans to restart mining in spring 2020 and significantly increase its extraction volumes (IBO, EOTA, Sydvaranger.no).
Take 1: In contrast to the environmental activists and scientists, Norwegian Minister of Trade and Industry together with the company’s leadership are highly positive about the reopening of the mine. According to Minister Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, “more than a hundred years of industrial history in Sør-Varanger can now be brought to a continuation and several hundred new jobs can be created in the municipality.” Calling to “the good old days” and new workplaces is a classical rhetoric, when it comes to environmentally destructive industrial projects in the Arctic. One could say that Sør-Varanger, just like Statoil, has become a part of the Norwegian identity and a Norwegian resource curse. Yet, how will the company go about attracting so many new employees this time when the unemployment rate in the region has significantly dropped, and climate change awareness gone up?
Kharasaveyskoye: One More Name on the Arctic Resource Extraction Map
On March 20, Russian President Vladimir Putin took part in an official kick-off of a new massive gas field, called Kharasaveyskoye. The field operated by the public joint stock company Gazpromis located on the Yamal peninsula, which has become a major extraction site in the Russian Arctic over the past few years. Since about 20% of the gas deposits are located offshore, the construction will include horizontal drilling. The start of production is planned for 2023, and the field is supposed to deliver over 30 billion cubic meters annually (The Moscow Times, TASS, The Maritime Executive).
Take 2: The Yamal-Nenets autonomous district in the Russian Arctic has recently been enjoying close attention to the Russian authorities. According to Putin, Kharasaveyskoye gas field “is another important step in the integrated development of the Yamal Peninsula, and in the development of a modern, powerful center for gas production and processing.” With Novatek’s Yamal LNG running at full speed, and the Arctic LNG 2 project to be launched soon, Gazprom’s addition to gas production on the Yamal is a clear sign of Russia’s attempts to improve its economic situation and break through the sanctions. At the same time, such intensive gas exploration on the Yamal peninsula is inevitably leading to serious environmental issues, caused not only by climate change but also by merciless horizontal drilling methods.
Big Promises for the Canadian Arctic
On March 19, a new budget was released by the Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Its main targets are millennials, skilled workers, and seniors. This time, the government pays special attention to indigenous issues, and plans to spend over $ 8 billion on the improvement of healthcare services, water supply, as well as land claims settlement. For Canada’s North in particular, it means promising investment flows of over $ 700 million, which would boost the regional development (CBC, Nunatsiaq News).
Take 3: Following Justin Trudeau’s visit to Iqaluit to deliver apologies, this news can be seen as a continuation of Canada’s articulated focus on improving living standards in the North and building trustworthy relations between Canadian indigenous communities and the state. A crucial financial investment for Nunavut is the long-awaited construction of facilities for addiction treatments, which can be regarded as one of the major successes of the budget. It also implies creating a new Arctic and Northern Policy framework together with the Northern Territories and the indigenous people. Yet, keeping in mind the upcoming federal elections in Canada, it remains unclear whether all proposals may stand.
“Faster, Higher, Stronger”: China’s New Icebreaker
This week, China General Nuclear Power Group (CGNPG) revealed new details on the planned construction of its first nuclear-powered icebreaker. It is to be 152 meters long, with a displacement of 30,000 tons, which will make it the world’s second largest nuclear-powered icebreaker after Russia (SCMP, HNN, IBO).
Take 4: This is indeed a significant step forward for the Chinese navy. It is worth noting that in the tender, the vessel is referred to as an “experimental platform”, which does not say anything about the actual purpose of its construction. Yet, both Chinese and foreign journalists assume that it can be used as a prototype for China’s future nuclear-powered aircraft carriers. Yet, while atomic icebreakers can be seen as China’s ultimate confirmation of its Arctic policy, one should keep in mind that the Arctic still plays a minor role in Chinese global political ambitions.
Another Hot Spot in the Arctic
The outgoing week marked another temperature record in the Arctic, this time in the Northwest Territories in Canada. According to the news agency The Eye On The Arctic (EOTA), unreasonably high March temperatures were observed in several places, including e.g. Yellowknife, Nahanni Butte, and Fort Simpson where the temperature hit 16 C on Tuesday. While many citizens enjoy the unexpected warmth and sunshine, others worry about transport and infrastructure issues which follow the snow melting (EOTA).
Take 5: Unfortunately, such news does not come as a surprise anymore. The ever-growing number and volume of extraction sites and activities in the Arctic inevitably leads to a tangible increase in temperatures locally and globally. Still, no matter how used we have become to the talks about global warming, it is crucial to continue highlighting this worrisome trend in close connection to major news about industrial development in the Arctic, which tend to hide uneasy controversies behind buzzwords, numbers and nicely photoshopped yet distorted images.