CHAPTER 9 Environmental Aspects of Exploration in the Arctic

Stephen A. Macko1

Abstract

Together with increasing global population comes a heightened demand for increased energy resources. New technologies for energy acquisition and pro- duction are rapidly growing and fulfilling part of this need. However, despite increased capacity from those resources as well as increased efficiency in utili- zation, fossil fuels, notably coal, and oil, remain a reasonably inexpensive resource for providing most present needs and are expected to remain so for the fore- seeable future. Oil demand alone is expected to grow by one to two percent per year for decades. As a result, continued exploration for in new regions of the planet is increasingly occurring. While advanced technologies are being vigorously pursued to allow for drilling offshore in deeper ocean waters, an alternate novel location for exploration and production is the Arctic. The Arctic includes 25 geologically defined regions that may contain up to 100 billion barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, some in the form of gas hydrates. These resources may represent the larg- est of the world’s remaining untapped gas reserves and much of the undeveloped . A significant portion of these reserves lie offshore on the shallow continental shelves of the Arctic, while a portion is suspected to exist in deeper waters. With global warming and diminishing sea ice in the Arctic, new avenues will open for exploration beyond the developing sea lanes which are more economical and more energetically efficient for transport. These reserves, when accessed, will have implications for the global climate, and for the environmental health of the Arctic environment. Oil spills, whether from leakage, accidental blowouts, or shipping will pose a tremendous risk to Arctic ecosystems. The Arctic is characterized by a short productive season, low temperatures, high energy storms and limited sunlight. As a result, it could take many decades for Arctic regions

1 Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA. Email: [email protected]. The author’s PowerPoint is available at http://www .virginia.edu/colp/pdf/bergen-macko.pdf

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, ���6 | doi ��.��63/9789004314252_011 Environmental Aspects of Hydrocarbon Exploration 131 to recover from habitat disruption, tundra disturbance and oil spills. Marine ecosys- tems are particularly vulnerable. There is a need for critical advance planning and preparation before further explo- ration of the Arctic occurs. There is no proven effective method for containing and cleaning up an oil spill in ice-covered/icy waters. Prevention at all costs, beyond that which is in place in present operations, is a prerequisite. The impact of an oil spill on fisheries and threatened mammal populations is presently incalculable. Development and use of Arctic-class ice-resistant oil rigs will be required. Drilling secondary pres- sure relief wells may be deemed necessary given the remote location and potential inability to address the urgency of an accident. The difficult conditions of the Arctic, and its distance from where response capacity is stationed mean it could take days or weeks to respond to a spill, even during ice-free periods, if at all possible. Standard clean-up technologies, including booms and surfactants, will likely not be usable for at least a portion of the time the well would be drilled or operating, or in the event of an accident. The behavior of materials like Corexit on ice or in water with pack ice is essentially unknown. Lack of cautious application of new technologies and oversight has led to increas- ing levels of pollutants, sometimes catastrophically, as was evidenced in the recent 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the . As a consequence of increased fossil fuel exploration, extraction and transport, the risk of contamination has height- ened. At present, only minimal preparation for impact and cleanup exists for this eventuality in fragile Arctic environments. Only through an appreciation for the past, in more forgiving locations, and a comprehensive understanding of the present fragil- ity of the Arctic, can we anticipate the future. The potential for that vision of the ocean lies with cooperation among all nations.

1 Introduction

Climatic conditions in the Arctic are changing faster than at any time in the past 10,000 years. With increases in global temperatures and loss of sea ice, certain modifications in the Arctic can be predicted along with their expected influences. Clearly, a potential exists for benefits in certain economic sec- tors. For example, less ice cover will certainly increase access to regions that have yet to be explored for and other minerals. The lessening of sea ice will also allow increased avenues for maritime transport between the Atlantic and Pacific through the Northwest Passage saving time and expense for international trade, although many issues involved with such passage pres- ently remain to be resolved (Figure 9.1). Additionally, with increases in open