Currently six states: Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, the USA and Great Britain lay their claims to the Arctic shelf. China also is ready to join them.
At a September meeting of the RF Security Council President Medvedev said: “Our biggest task now is to turn the Arctic into Russia’s resource base for the twenty-first century. Reaching this goal requires us first to resolve a whole number of specific issues. The main issue is that of reliably protecting our national interests in the region.” To fulfill the task set by the President it is planned in the nearest future in addition to the theoretical studies to perform at least three new comprehensive expeditions to the Arctic by one of nuclear-powered ice-breakers to collect additional data to execute a justified application to the United Nations to get the boundaries of our continental shelf in the Arctic approved. After this, in 2013, Russia will have grounds to legally secure a continental shelf of 1.2 million sq. km with additional oil and gas resources of more than 5 billion tons of fuel equivalent beyond the border of the its economic zone. .
The most serious rival of Russia “in the high latitudes” is Canada, which perceives any efforts of other countries to claim their right to the Arctic areas as a personal offence and infringement of its sovereignty. After the Russian flag was posted on the floor of the Arctic Ocean Canada blamed our country for “the barbarous ambitions”. Speaking on a possibility of Russia’s claims to the Arctic shelf the Canadian media outlets wrote that “it is the most serious challenge to the Canadian sovereignty of late”, and with respect to the sovereignty over the Arctic Canada “has drawn a line, which cannot be crossed”…
Struggling for the Arctic Canada lays a claim not only to the coastal shelf rich of natural resources but also intends to take under its jurisdiction the North-Western Sea Route interconnecting the Canadian Arctic islands.
In terms of the geology a main rival of Russia is Denmark. The most important “trump card” of Denmark in its game for the Arctic is Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of the Danish Kingdom with very broad powers. At a recent referendum an overwhelming majority of Greenland inhabitants voted for radical expansion of the autonomy powers. According to the new rules Greenland will have a bigger share of revenues from oil trade than it receives now.
Denmark is going to prove that Greenland is connected with the North Pole through a 2,000-km long underwater ridge of Lomonosov. If this version is proved, 62,000 sq. miles of the Arctic shelf may become a territory of Denmark. Denmark is involved in efforts to defend its Arctic rights for already several years, and spends big sums of money on it. For example, only in 2004, this country provided 25 million Dollars to this end. The Danish regular Arctic surveys are planned up to 2014 when the country is going to submit the evidence confirming its right to use the Arctic shelf named the Lononosov Ridge to the UN Commission on the Law of the Sea.
Norway also lays a claim to 175 sq km of the Russian shelf in the Barents Sea. Already for 75 years Oslo and Moscow fail to agree upon a maritime border between Spitsbergen and Novaya Zermlya that hampers in signing a comprehensive agreement on the Barents Sea. And despite this agreement is not available, Norway is already building a huge terminal named Snevit to receive the natural gas produced in the Barents Sea.
The Norwegian authorities consider the continental shelf to be a territory under their jurisdiction, and today they are not going to give their consent to continuation of the Russian surveys, which have been conducted during six years near Spitsbergen and which have confirmed presence of hydrocarbon deposits in this area.
Last September Great Britain also claimed to the Arctic. To be equal to other Arctic racers Great Britain must defend its territorial right to a small rocky islet of Rockall. Today it is a disputable rock between England, Denmark and Iceland.
The United States significantly lags behind in the “Arctic race”. This country has not yet ratified the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, and therefore legally it has no right to claim any other territory but its 200-mile exclusive territorial zone. The United States has the only right - to conduct surveys. The US Senate appropriated 8.2 billion Dollars for Arctic surveys and protection of the US interests in the Arctic.
After a well-known Russian expedition to the North Pole the Americans also sent their urgent sea expedition “to the North” to remind about itself as a claimant to the Arctic resources. In so doing, America is going to lay a claim to an area equal to two California States that includes the Arctic Ocean waters to a distance of 600 nautical miles (960 km) from the coast of Alaska.
Another country that intends to bid for the Arctic natural resources is China suffering from the energy hunger. To this end, China has already opened a research station in Spitsbergen and twice sent its ice-breaker “Snow Dragoon” to the Polar seas.
Currently more than fifty states perform offshore production of hydrocarbons developing more than 1,200 offshore oil and gas fields. The number of offshore producing wells is more than 100,000. The offshore oil production amounts to 34 per cent, and gas production – about 26 per cent of the worldwide production. But all these fields locate in the warm waters free of ice, or in shallow waters. The mankind has no experience in developing high-sea fields in the Polar, most severe ice conditions. As of today only bidders for such development made statements, and most probably they will be active in pursuing their goals in order to snap “a tidbit” of the Arctic Ocean floor with its huge energy reserves.
Taking into account that the USA, Canada and NATO enhance their military presence in the Arctic, Russia also may face an urgent need to increase its military presence there to protect its economic interests in the Arctic. And it means that the Northern Fleet, border guards and Air Force infrastructure should be radically strengthened there with all ensuing economic and political consequences.
