The Arctic This Week Take Five: Week of February 19, 2018

Russia and Saudi Arabia’s LNG Dream

Last week, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak met Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih to discuss and sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for collaboration on energy. Now the two countries have a list of 23 projects that may be developed, and a few deals have already been signed. A big future project can be Novatek’s second LNG project called Arctic LNG-2. Once fully operational in 2023, Arctic LNG-2, a three-train project, will have the potential to produce 18 million tons of LNG per year compared to Yamal LNG’s 16.5 million tons. Moscow has invited Saudi Arabia’s national oil company Saudi Aramco to take part of this project, and Khalid al-Falih has announced that the project may become part of Saudi Aramco’s gas strategy. A final agreement can come as soon as June or earlier this year (Business Insider, Oilprice.com, RT, TASS).

Take 1: The Russian and Saudi Arabian collaboration in energy projects is yet another blow to US influence in the region, coming just a couple months after Saudi King Salman landed in Moscow to meet with President Vladimir Putin in October 2017 (World Politics Review). That visit to Moscow was the first time a reigning Saudi monarch visited the Russian capital. It showed that Russia has become a major player in the Middle East, and that Saudi Arabia aims to widen its foreign relations, potentially reducing the Kingdom’s reliance on the US. The signing of the MoU reinforces this notion with concrete action. The deal also helps diversify some of the Saudi economy away from oil to LNG, a long-term Saudi strategic goal. With the potential collaboration in up to 23 energy projects, it is clear that the countries’ relations continue to strengthen.

Charging Up Scandinavia

The European Investment Bank (EIB) approved a loan request of up to EUR 52.5 million for a battery project in Northern Sweden. The project aims to construct a demonstration site with a research facility. This is a key step towards the establishment of Northvolt’s large-scale Li-ion battery factory in Skellefteå, as the demonstration site will show the viability of the concept. The final Skellefteå plant will be able to produce 32 GWh worth of battery capacity annually, and batteries can be used in stationary storage, industrial and consumer applications, and in transport (European Investment Bank, Northvolt, The Independent Barents Observer).

Take 2: Li-ion batteries are becoming increasingly more important as countries transition to electric vehicles and other forms of electric transportation. In particular, the transition is moving rapidly in Europe with countries like Norway, Great Britain and France already setting goals for when petrol and diesel cars can’t be sold anymore. In Norway sales will end by 2025, in Great Britain and France they will end by 2040 (CNN Money, The Guardian). This is good news. However, there is a big problem in that much of the current electric vehicle battery production capacity of the world is situated in China, Japan and South Korea, while Europe holds a sizable amount of the demand for Li-ion battery cells used in electric vehicles (Politico). Europe lags behind when it comes to battery manufacturing but with Northvolt pushing to eventually build Europe’s largest battery plant in Sweden, future market demand can be better met.

Changing the Icy Perception

Members of the European Parliament perceive Northern Norway to be frozen and uninhabited. This week, to change the negative perception, two members and eight political advisors from the European Parliament visited Northern Norway for an extensive study trip. The trip lasted five days and the group was able to visit the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Bodø, the Barents Secretariat in Kirkenes, and the Polar Institute in Tromsø. The group also had the chance to meet with members of parliament, county councilors, mayors, and business leaders, as well as go cod fishing in Lofoton (High North News).

Take 3: Norway is not a member of the EU, but there is already a strong relationship existing between EU and Northern Norway because of Norway’s role in maintaining EU’s food and energy security (European Commission, European Council on Foreign Relations). Many decisions in the EU affect North Norway, and it is therefore important that EU decision-makers have as much knowledge and experience of Northern Norway as possible. It ensures that whatever decisions are made in the future are fully made based on knowledge rather than myths about the Arctic. The trip to Northern Norway provided the members and political advisors the opportunity to gain knowledge about business, climate and the potential for sustainable growth in the region.

One Fish…Two Fish

Scientists from the Canadian Museum of Nature and Fisheries and Oceans Canada finally presented a guide to the marine fishes found in Arctic Canadian waters this week. The book, called Marine Fishes of Arctic Canada, has been 58 years in the making, and is the first of its kind. It has more than 600 pages of descriptions and maps of every known fish in the north. Book production began in the early 1990s, but it took till now to get pinpoint accuracy in many maps (National History Book Service, Ottawa Citizen, Radio Canada International).

Take 4: Information had previously been gathered about Atlantic fish, Pacific fish and freshwater fish. Unfortunately, descriptions and maps for the Arctic fish have not been in place before now. This is because of the difficulty of working in the north and the expense of such research. Knowledge of fish in the Arctic Ocean is important not only for Canada but also other Arctic countries. Fish swim across territorial boundaries, and the effects of climate change will force fish to seek new waters. Understanding the fish types and their swimming patterns help better predict future migration trends. The book will therefore be of importance to all governments, ecologists, biologists, resource extraction companies operating in the North, environmental groups, commercial and amateur fishers and Northern residents in countries bordering the central Arctic Ocean.

The Frozen North Accepts National Treasures

On February 22, national treasures from Brazil and Italy arrived in Svalbard. This frozen land has now become the new home to treasures like Dante’s “La Divina Commedia” and some of Brazil’s major football events (High North News). The Arctic World Archive opened on March 27, 2017 with the governments of Brazil, Mexico and Norway being the first customers to store various historical documents in the vault. Here, the company Piql utilizes an abandoned mine (mine-3) as the data storage center, and stores all data on film, a technology that will be readable for at least 500 years from now. With the film, Piql also stores instructions and the associated technology to examine it, ensuring that future generations won’t have issues accessing the information (The Verge).

Take 5: There are a couple reasons why storing data at Svalbard is so great. First, it is dry and cold there, an ideal location for data storage. Second, it is a green storage solution because of the re-using of a mine that was previously used for coal. Little needed to be done to make the mine suitable for data storage. Third, data are stored offline on film, which makes it impossible for people to hack or carry out cyber attacks. Fourth, it is one of the world’s safest places for storing data because it is located in the Norwegian Arctic and protected by the Svalbard Treaty.