Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




ENERGY TECH
Arctic map flags up territorial disputes over oil
by Staff Writers
London (AFP) Aug 6, 2008


The International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) Arctic map.

British researchers have drawn up the first detailed map of areas in the Arctic that could spark border disputes over extensive oil and gas deposits, they said Wednesday.

Experts from the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) at Durham University in northeast England produced the map to illustrate current boundaries and possible future claims.

Russia last year staked its disputed claim to a huge chunk of the frozen land when a submarine planted a flag on the ocean floor underneath the North Pole.

Canada, the United States, Denmark, Iceland and Norway are also all embroiled in territorial disputes.

Martin Pratt, director of research at IBRU, said: "We have attempted to show all known claims -- agreed boundaries and one thing that has not appeared on any other maps, which is the number of areas that could be claimed by Canada, Denmark and the US."

The team used special software to construct the boundaries.

He said a new survey by the US Geological Survey estimates that a fifth of the world's undiscovered, recoverable resources lie within the Arctic Circle.

"We are talking 90 million barrels of oil, nearly 17 hundred trillion cubic feet," Pratt said. "I suppose for any state, control over hydrocarbons is significant as other resources dwindle."

Russia in particular is attracted by the Arctic region's potential for oil and gas extraction because it already has a well-developed gas infrastructure, Pratt said.

Global warming is also aiding the search for oil and gas, as areas of the Arctic which were once permanently frozen now melt in the warmer months, allowing scientists access.

"The other factor is the melting of the polar ice and that is making it easier to explore the area which is why the oil and gas industry is looking at it," he said.

"It is now becoming a potential area of development rather than a hypothetical one."

That in turn is raising concerns about the potential destruction of the "unique environment" in the Arctic. "It is vulnerable and extracting oil and gas is not an environmentally friendly activity," Pratt said.

Russia first made a submission to the UN about the area in 2001 and a Russian lawmaker has said Moscow will make a fresh claim next year.

Pratt said the Russian submarine was in the Arctic last year to gather more evidence to back up the claim.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) stipulates that any coastal state can claim territory 200 nautical miles from their shoreline and exploit the natural resources within that zone.

But some coastal states can claim rights that extend beyond their shoreline because they have a continental shelf, the part of their landmass that extends into the sea.

Russia claims its continental shelf extends along a mountain chain running underneath the Arctic, known as the Lomonosov Ridge.

The map can be downloaded from http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/resources/arctic/.

.


Related Links
Powering The World in the 21st Century at Energy-Daily.com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








ENERGY TECH
World oil prices fall
Singapore (AFP) Aug 5, 2008
World oil prices fell in Asian trade Tuesday as fears about slowing US demand offset worries about tension over oil-rich Iran's controversial nuclear programme, dealers said. In afternoon trade, New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, fell 1.10 dollars to 120.31 dollars a barrel from 121.41 dollars at the close of floor trading in the United States on Monday. ... read more


ENERGY TECH
NASA Awards Contracts For Concepts Of Lunar Surface Systems

NASA Lunar Science Institute Names First International Partner

NASA Tests Moon Imaging Spacecraft

NASA Hosts International Meeting For Lunar Science Discussions

ENERGY TECH
Perchlorate salts: a major find on Mars

Phoenix Mars Team Opens Window On Scientific Process

About Water On Mars, The Origins Of Life And The Future Of Earth

4Frontiers Awarded Grant To Investigate Mars Greenhouse Materials

ENERGY TECH
NASA Awards Space Radiobiology Research Grants

Environmental Tectonics's NASTAR Center Receives Award

Inspire Interns Help Design Next-Gen Space Fleet

Obama Promises A Better NASA

ENERGY TECH
China's Space Ambitions

Rocket For China's Manned Space Mission At Launch Center

China To Release 700 Hours Of Chang'e-1 Data

China Aims For World-Class Space Industry In Seven Years

ENERGY TECH
ISS Crew Inspired By Vision And Dreams Of Jules Verne

Space chiefs ponder ISS transport problem, post-2015 future

Space Station A Test-Bed For Future Space Exploration

Two Russian cosmonauts begin new space walk

ENERGY TECH
Russian Launch Of Satellite On Converted Satan ICBM Postponed

Europe's Ariane rocket must develop or die: ex-CEO

Russia Launching Thai Earth Remote-Sensing Satellite

Russia Puts Off Launch Of Inmarsat Satellite Until August 19

ENERGY TECH
CoRoT Exoplanet Stands Out From The Crowd

COROT's New Find Orbits Sun-Like Star

Chemical Clues Point To Dusty Origin For Earth-Like Planets

Astronomers discover clutch of 'super-Earths'

ENERGY TECH
Satgate Contracts Four Transponders At New SES ASTRA Orbital Position

Argonne Scientists Discover New Class Of Glassy Material

Scientist says feathers are future of Asia construction

Seanodes Computing Solution In The Stars For NASA Astrophysics Group




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement