Just days after the historic Norwegian-Russian delimitation agreement in the Barents Sea and subsequent elevated expectations of a new petroleum boom in the region, the huge spills in the Mexico Gulf now spurs new debate about the rightfulness of Arctic drilling.
The Socialist Left Party (SV), junior partner in the Norwegian government coalition, argues that the spills in the Mexico Gulf should be considered an eye-opener for the Norwegian oil industry, eager to open the vulnerable and resource-rich Lofoten and Vesterålen waters for oil drilling.
-I believe this makes a very strong impression on very many people, because it shows that one can not assure oneself against spills when we are dealing with oil, even when there are lots of security arrangements and top modern technology, party leader and Minister of Education Kristin Halvorsen says to NTB and Nordlys.
A new report from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate indicates that there could be as much as 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalents in the Lofoten and Vesterålen area.
Several experts now believe the spills will result in a bigger skepticism about petroleum exploration in vulnerable areas.
“The blowout is pretty disastrous for anyone planning to start offshore operations in ecologically fragile areas,” Jonathan Stern, director of gas research at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies, told Reuters. “It was already going to be tough in the Arctic”, he added.
According to the news agency, Royal Dutch Shell is already facing enhanced pressure from environmentalists in the Chukchi Sea off Alaska. Environmental organizations argue that the company must at least postpone the planned 2010 drilling in the area.
In Norway, the Socialist Left Party together with environmentalists lead the campaign against oil drilling in the Lofoten waters. They face tough opposition from the oil industry, regional politicians and most of the biggest political parties.
So far, there are few Arctic offshore fields in production. Statoil’s Snøhvit field in the Barents Sea started gas production in early fall 2007. No oil fields are yet in production, but Gazprom intends to start production at its Prirazlomnoe oil field in the Pechora Sea in 2011.
