Tuesday, June 12, 2012  Developing North American Arctic
Offshore Oil and Gas: A Comparative Study - Part 2  The article
is based on an ongoing study that the author is conducting
within the international research programme Geopolitics in the
High North. For more please go to www.geopoliticsnorth.org.   By
Andreas Østhagen As mentioned in the part 1 of this article, in
the 1970s and 80s onshore development and rising oil prices in
Alaska and the Northwest Territories led the U.S. and the
Canadian governments to allow, and even push for, several
exploratory drillings in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. These
wells were eventually capped as prices fell and the findings did
not warrant commercial activity at the time. New technology,
melting sea ice, and a significant increase in petroleum prices
worldwide have now led to the reconsideration of these and other
Arctic offshore fields by governments and companies alike for
economic development.   The development of North American Arctic
offshore oil and gas is argua