In Greenland, warming fuels dream of hidden wealth

Global warming is melting the fringes of the frozen world where Greenland’s Inuits have hunted seal, whale and polar bear for generations. It’s thawing the permafrost on which their homes are built. It’s disrupting Arctic wildlife and fish stocks, and making hunting trips more dangerous by thinning the ice that supports their dog sleds.

But all is not doom and gloom. The retreating ice could uncover potential oil and mineral resources which, if successfully tapped, could dramatically change the fortunes of this semiautonomous Danish territory of 57,000 people.

The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there are more than 18 billion barrels of oil and gas beneath the Arctic waters between Greenland and Canada, and 31 billion barrels off Greenland’s east coast.

North Sea resources of the same magnitude have made Norway one of Europe’s richest countries.

Even if only a small part becomes recoverable as the Arctic sea ice retreats, it would be enough for a major boost in living standards for Greenland’s tiny population.

“If we find those kind of quantities of oil and gas and the prices remain at current levels, then Greenland would be a very wealthy country, no doubt,” said Joern Skov Nielsen, the director of Greenland’s Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum.

Finding hydrocarbons would be crucial to help Greenlanders realize their long-held dream of cutting the annual 3.4 billion kroner ($680 million) lifeline from former colonial power Denmark that currently rules out full independence.

It’s still a big “if.”

AP