Greenland petroleum exploration history: Rise and fall, learnings, and future perspectives

Christiansen, Flemming G.

doi:10.1016/j.resourpol.2021.102425

Cited by 8 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…700 efterforskningslicenser og 12 udnyttelsestilladelser (Christiansen, 2022). På olieområdet er de vigtigste nøgledata allerede tilgaengelige i Christiansen (2011Christiansen ( , 2021. Medmindre andet er angivet, er alle beløb forsøgt omregnet til nutidsvaerdi.…”

Section: Data Og Metoderunclassified

“…Olieefterforskningshistorien i Grønland begraenser sig hovedsagelig til to hektiske perioder i 1970'erne (offshore Vestgrønland) og i 2008-2017 (offshore Vest-, Nordvest-og Nordøstgrønland) og med lidt mere spredte aktiviteter i 1980'erne og 1990'erne (Christiansen, 2011(Christiansen, , 2021. Der blev gennemført i alt 15 efterforskningsboringer uden at gøre kommercielle fund.…”

Section: Olieefterforskningshistorienunclassified

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Grønlands mineral- og olieefterforskningshistorie i internationalt politisk perspektiv

Getreuer¹

2023

Internasjonal Politikk

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Samspil mellem råstof-, selvstændigheds- og udenrigspolitik er vigtigt i samarbejdet mellem Grønland og Danmark. Mulige indtægter fra råstofudnyttelse har tidligere været en central del af selvstændighedspolitikken i Grønland, men fokus er nu ændret mod det udenrigspolitiske. Grønland har en lang mine- og mineralefterforskningshistorie, men der er relativt få projekter, som har givet stor samfundsmæssig gevinst. Olieefterforskningshistorien har været mere sporadisk med nogle få hektiske perioder i 1970’erne og i det nye årtusinde. Aktiviteterne har haft stor international bevågenhed, både i perioden med dansk myndighed før 1979, i perioden med fælles beslutningskompetence, og nu hvor Grønland siden 2009 har haft ansvaret for lovgivning og administration. Investeringerne i henholdsvis olie- og mineralefterforskning i Grønland er af nogenlunde samme størrelsesorden, men der er meget stor forskel på den involverede industri og effekten på det grønlandske samfund. I perioder har der været interesse for strategisk vigtige råstoffer, under og efter 2. verdenskrig især kryolit og uran og i de senere år sjældne jordarter. Råstofferne indgår i et kompliceret geopolitisk spil mellem USA, EU og Kina, hvor Grønland forsøger at opnå yderligere udenrigspolitisk indflydelse i forhold til Danmark. Abstract in EnglishGreenland mineral and petroleum exploration history in international political perspectiveGreenland has a long mining and mineral exploration history. Despite significant political interest and investments, only few projects have been economically successful. Petroleum exploration has been more sporadic with hectic activity in the 1970’ties and in the new Millenium. Costs for exploration are in the same order for minerals and petroleum exploration but with large differences in the involved industry, the national companies and the effect on Greenland society and politics. Throughout history there has always been strong political focus on resources in Greenland, both in periods with Danish authority before 1979, in the period with joint competence, and after Greenland took over full legislation and administration in 2009. Possible income from resource exploitation has always been a central part of the independence policy in Greenland but focus is changing towards foreign policy. In some periods other countries have shown interest for strategically important raw materials, especially cryolite and uranium during and after World War II, and in later years Rare Earth Elements. Greenland resources are part of a complicated geopolitical game between the US, EU, and China, and where Greenland is challenging the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Denmark and prepares for independence.

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Section: Data Og Metoderunclassified

Section: Olieefterforskningshistorienunclassified

Grønlands mineral- og olieefterforskningshistorie i internationalt politisk perspektiv

Getreuer¹

2023

Internasjonal Politikk

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“…DKK for the shares (50% of the equity by the end of 2007 plus investments the year after). Following massive relinquishments by large international oil companies within the last 5 years, NUNAOIL has been reduced in financial power and size, and the company is now dormant (Christiansen 2021).…”

Section: Nunaoil/nunaminerals Eramentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The impact of research and mapping on mineral exploration has been different compared to petroleum (Christiansen 2011(Christiansen , 2021 where new data and results were driving exploration and marketing. In some cases, research results were completely missing as mineral deposits were found by traditional prospecting or even by chance many decades back.…”

Section: Research As a Drivermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The parliamentary committee in Greenland has had little running influence on the mineral resources policy in the last 13 years, and there is no broad consensus on neither mineral nor petroleum policy. Changes of the political agenda have mainly been driven by the many new ministers (table SI8 in Supplementary Material, see further discussion in Thorup et al 2020;Christiansen 2021). This lack of network, continuity, and consistency together with the many changes in ministers -and with ministers from many different parties and in some cases lower in the party hierarchy, makes it difficult for investors to navigate.…”

Section: Changes With New Greenlandic Administrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Greenland mineral exploration history

Christiansen¹

2022

Miner Econ

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Greenland has a long mining and mineral exploration history and offers interesting possibilities for investors. There is still optimism in the mineral business, but successful examples are surprisingly few in the new millennium. Based on numerous new tables compiling information on companies, periods, targets, licenses, and costs, this paper gives a description of the past and present activities, the exploration companies involved, their main targets, their limited financial power, and their continued need for and search of investors and large industrial partners. An analysis of the key drivers at different levels is presented: analogues with Canada and elsewhere, dedicated prospectors looking for profit, specific strategic projects, commodity prices, new research results, co-financing, strategies, and regulations by authorities in Greenland and Denmark. Changes in political agenda in Greenland, Denmark, and internationally have had a strong influence on exploration activities in Greenland compared to other countries with an exploration industry, in some cases creating good incentives for investors, in other cases being showstoppers for future exploration and mining. This paper provides, for the first time ever, a summary of the total costs for mineral exploration in Greenland and the total revenue for the governments, and compares these numbers with the public investments in research, data acquisition, and direct investments in national companies.

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Glacial energy futures? The history of unbuilt hydropower in Greenland from the 1950s to the 1970s

Priebe

2024

Water Hist

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This article examines how and by whom the future of glacial energy was imagined in Greenland between the 1950s and 1970s, with a specific emphasis on the intersection of discourses of energy and political autonomy. The focus lies on the years from 1953, marking the end of Greenland’s colonial status and its integration into the realm of its former colonial authority, Denmark, until 1979, when the Greenland Home Rule Agreement was enacted. The futures of hydropower are explored through the lens of energy imaginaries, a notion that underscores the interconnectedness between different forms of energy and the organization of social structures. These imaginaries revolving around hydropower circulated in the public-political space in Greenland decades prior to when the first operational hydropower plant came online in 1993. Through a historical empirical analysis, this article identifies the energy imaginaries linked to envisioned hydropower and delineates key phases of their emergence. It also discusses these envisioned futures of hydropower in the historical context of Arctic oil exploration and Greenland’s strivings toward political autonomy. The energy imaginaries of hydropower, especially glacial hydropower generated adjacent to Greenland’s inland icesheet, built on a long-term timeline and autonomous society, in contrast to the oil development that was favoured by Danish authorities at the time. Ultimately, it was the considerations of the sources and scale of the necessary investments that deferred the implementation of hydropower until the late 1980s. However, the groundwork for viewing Greenland’s water resources as a cornerstone for its future independence had been laid.

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Greenland petroleum exploration history: Rise and fall, learnings, and future perspectives

Cited by 8 publications

References 50 publications

Grønlands mineral- og olieefterforskningshistorie i internationalt politisk perspektiv

Grønlands mineral- og olieefterforskningshistorie i internationalt politisk perspektiv

Greenland mineral exploration history

Glacial energy futures? The history of unbuilt hydropower in Greenland from the 1950s to the 1970s

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