Resource Issues
Gazprom keeps up pipeline pressure in Komi
(BarentsObserver, 29 July 2009) -- Russian gas major will not cancel any contract with partners in the Komi Republic, but only postpone project deadlines. The main part of the pipeline which is to stretch from the Yamal peninsula runs across the territory of the Komi Republic. In a meeting between Gazprom and Komi regional authorities today, the company representatives said that work with the 1100 km long pipeline will proceed, however not in line to previous time schedules. Company representative Sergei Prozorov confirmed that the Bovanenkovo field, the huge 4.9 trillion cubic meter field in Yamal will be ready for production in the third quarter of 2012, Komiinform.ru reports. The pipeline construction on Komi territory will restart in November, he added. None of the company’s commitments for the republic will suffer, the company representative stressed. "All key figures remain, only the time schedule is changed," he said. As BarentsObserver reported in mid-June, Gazprom has decided to postpone the launch of the Bovanenkovo field with one year, from 2011 to 2012.
Posted 29 July 2009; 11:25:42 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Circumpolar News, Economic and Commerce Issues, Resource Issues, Social Issues, Transportation, Infrastructure and Construction
Opinion: Arctic debate heats up over fish
(Anna Mehler Paperny/Globe and Mail, 29 July 2009) -- The heat in the debate over Arctic sovereignty was kicked up a few degrees this week with news that Denmark and Norway are increasing their Arctic military capabilities. Canada responded by moving to raise its profile in the North. But the most immediate threat to Canada's territorial claims in the North is not military. It is a proposed U.S. ban on fishing in a part of the Beaufort Sea claimed by both countries—a move that could force Ottawa to back up its aggressive stand on Arctic sovereignty or risk weakening its position in future disputes over who's in charge in the North. ... A plan released earlier this year for Alaska's North Pacific Fishery Management Council concluded that the area does not have enough of any fish species to permit commercial fishing, and recommended a ban. The proposed law, now under review by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, will likely come into effect this fall, said Melanie Brown, fishery program specialist with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Juneau. Canadian law permits fishing close to shore in the area, but requires anyone wanting to set up a commercial fishery to submit an application, subject to a multiyear evaluation, outlining the proposal and its viability. The two countries' policies on fishing in Arctic waters aren't far apart. But “the issue is who is going to have final say in terms of fishing” in the disputed zone, said Robert Huebert, associate director of the University of Calgary's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies.
Posted 29 July 2009; 9:20:31 AM. Permalink
Tagged: Arctic Ocean, Autonomy, Sovereignty and Politics, Canada, Circumpolar News, Fisheries, Laws and legal, North America, Resource Issues
email to: agra...@yukoncollege.yk.ca
Add to del.icio.us
