Statoil awarded exploration licence off Greenland

Map of Block 6, the area awarded to Statoil off east Greenland. (Statoil)
Map of Block 6, the area awarded to Statoil off east Greenland. (Statoil)
I missed this over the holidays, but Norway’s Statoil, along with partners ConocoPhillips and Nunaoil, has been awarded an exploration licence off the eastern coast of Greenland.

“We are taking a stepwise approach to the Arctic, building on more than 30 years of experience from the harsh environment of the Norwegian continental shelf and other Arctic and sub-Arctic regions,” said Runi M. Hansen, Statoil country manager for Greenland and the Faroes in a press release dated December 20, 2013. “We believe that Arctic resources in the future will become important to meeting the world’s energy demand.”

The area they’ll be operating in is referred to as Block 6. It’s located off the coast of northeast Greenland.

Statoil holds 52.5 per cent., ConocoPhillips 35 per cent and Nunaoil ( National Oil Company of Greenland) will have 12.5 per cent.

The licence has a 16-year exploration period.

Statoil is also active in Baffin Bay located between Canada and the west coast of Greenland.

Though drilling and mining remain controversial in the Arctic, Greenland sees the greater economic activity of mining and offshore energy exploration as leading to increased economic and political independence from Denmark.

Related Links:

Statoil Press Release 

BLOG: Conservative victory in Norway: What does it mean for the Arctic?, Blog by Mia Bennett

Analysis: Implications of Greenland’s decision to allow uranium mining, Blog by Mia Bennett

Eilís Quinn, Eye on the Arctic

Eilís Quinn is an award-winning journalist and manages Radio Canada International’s Eye on the Arctic news cooperation project. Eilís has reported from the Arctic regions of all eight circumpolar countries and has produced numerous documentary and multimedia series about climate change and the issues facing Indigenous peoples in the North.

Her investigative report "Death in the Arctic: A community grieves, a father fights for change," about the murder of Robert Adams, a 19-year-old Inuk man from Arctic Quebec, received the silver medal for “Best Investigative Article or Series” at the 2019 Canadian Online Publishing Awards. The project also received an honourable mention for excellence in reporting on trauma at the 2019 Dart Awards in New York City.

Her report “The Arctic Railway: Building a future or destroying a culture?” on the impact a multi-billion euro infrastructure project would have on Indigenous communities in Arctic Europe was a finalist at the 2019 Canadian Association of Journalists award in the online investigative category.

Her multimedia project on the health challenges in the Canadian Arctic, "Bridging the Divide," was a finalist at the 2012 Webby Awards.

Her work on climate change in the Arctic has also been featured on the TV science program Découverte, as well as Le Téléjournal, the French-Language CBC’s flagship news cast.

Eilís has worked for media organizations in Canada and the United States and as a TV host for the Discovery/BBC Worldwide series "Best in China."

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