Before the Bonanza: Hydrocarbons in Greenland By Ebbe Dam Meinild (178060) Supervisor: Kjetil Rommetveit Region og regionalisering, University of Bergen, Spring 2010 Cover illustration: Asmund Havsteen-Mikkelsen Danmarkskortet (The Map of Denmark, 2004). Poster made for the exhibition Melting Barricades (2004-05) in collaboration with Inuk Silis Høegh ii Acknowledgements I doubt, that I had written this thesis if Kjetil Rommetveit had not been my supervisor. Well, maybe I had, but it would have been much more boring. Kjetil, thanks for many inspiring, confusing and enlightening talks, and for your enthusiasm which pushed this thesis forward. I dedicate the thesis to Astrid, Vetle, Frej and Ludo. How could I have managed (anything) without you? Thanks to the five persons who where interviewed and to the many other interesting persons I spoke to informally. Thanks to the people at Region and regionalisering for interesting seminars and talks. Thanks to Roger Strand or his colleagues at the Centre for the Study of the Sciences and the Humanities at the University of Bergen. You have been very kind to include me in the activities there and letting me ask stupid questions. Thanks to all my neighbors at Medås, whom it has been a great experience living with. This does not include the Zetor tractor. Thanks to Solveig, Helene, Henrik and Astrid for correcting my danglish and for giving me your valuable help and comments. Thanks to Asmund for the cover illustration. Thanks to Svein, Heidi, Øyvind, Stina and Hanne for your company and hospitality in Bergen. Big hugs to family and friends. All clear! Full speed ahead! iii Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................................III LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES ......................................................................................................... VI TRANSLATIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS......................................................................................... VII 1.0 INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH QUESTION............................................................................ 1 1.1 IT’S THE OIL , STUPID !......................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 THE CHALLENGE THAT DISAPPEARED ............................................................................................... 3 1.3 RESEARCH QUESTION ......................................................................................................................... 4 1.4 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS ................................................................................................................ 5 2.0 ACADEMIC CONTEXT....................................................................................................................... 7 2.1 THREE BULKS OF RESEARCH ............................................................................................................. 7 2.2 CONTEXTUALISATION ....................................................................................................................... 11 3.0 THEORETICAL CONSIDERATIONS ............................................................................................. 13 3.1 DISCOURSE OF ECOLOGICAL DILEMMAS ......................................................................................... 14 3.2 CO-PRODUCING GREENLAND ........................................................................................................... 16 3.3 MODERNISING ECOLOGY .................................................................................................................. 18 4.0 METHOD.............................................................................................................................................. 20 4.1 DISCOURSE ANALYSIS ....................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 CLARIFICATION OF CONCEPTS ......................................................................................................... 21 4.3 TWO DISCURSIVE POSITIONS ........................................................................................................... 24 4.4 EMPIRICAL SOURCES ........................................................................................................................ 26 4.4.1 Policy documents ....................................................................................................................... 26 4.4.2 Newspaper Articles .................................................................................................................... 27 4.4.3 The Journal Grønland .............................................................................................................. 28 4.4.4 Interviews .................................................................................................................................. 29 4.5 THE STEPS OF WORK ........................................................................................................................ 30 4.6 INTERPRETATION .............................................................................................................................. 31 4.7 COMBINATION OF SOURCES ............................................................................................................. 32 4.8 LIMITATIONS AND TRAILS NOT FOLLOWED .................................................................................... 35 5.0 ANALYSIS............................................................................................................................................ 37 5.1 THE LOTTERY ................................................................................................................................... 37 5.1.1 The Beginning of Danish Greenland ....................................................................................... 38 5.1.2 The Geological Colony .............................................................................................................. 38 5.1.3 First Signs of Texas .................................................................................................................. 41 5.1.4 Knowledge Production during Decolonisation ........................................................................ 42 5.1.5 Summary and Discussion of Results ........................................................................................ 43 5.2 THE LAST FRONTIER ? ...................................................................................................................... 44 5.2.1 A Comprehensive Thing ........................................................................................................... 44 5.2.2 Various Geologies ..................................................................................................................... 46 5.2.3 To Open Up Greenland ............................................................................................................. 47 5.2.4 Concessions and Drillings ........................................................................................................ 49 5.2.6 Summary and Discussion of Results ........................................................................................ 52 5.3 NEGOTIATING RESOURCES ............................................................................................................... 53 5.3.2 Two Views on Home Rule ......................................................................................................... 55 5.3.3 First View: New Questions, New Politics ................................................................................. 55 5.3.4 A Game of Words ...................................................................................................................... 58 5.3.5 Blowouts – the Right to Pollute? .............................................................................................. 60 5.3.6 Second View: Hydrocarbons of Equality ................................................................................. 62 iv 5.3.7 Optimism and Pessimism in Qaqaortoq ................................................................................... 66 5.3.8 Summary and Discussion of Results ........................................................................................ 69 5.4 OPPOSITION AND ADMINISTRATION − TWO EMBLEMATIC EVENTS ............................................... 71 5.4.1 The Arctic Pilot Project ............................................................................................................. 72 5.4.3 Unified Protests ......................................................................................................................... 75 5.4.4 The Jameson Land Concession ................................................................................................ 81 5.4.5 Greenland’s Own Arctic Pilot Project? .................................................................................... 83 5.4.6 A Change in Attitude ................................................................................................................. 85 5.4.7 Summary and Discussion of Results ........................................................................................ 88 5.5 CONSOLIDATION AND CHANGE ........................................................................................................ 90 5.5.1 Estimates and Perspectives ......................................................................................................