In previous videos, I discussed oil and natural gas production in the Russian Arctic and then attention turned to what's going on in the US Arctic. Basically, this involves the Beaufort Sea, the Alaska North Slope, and the Chukchi Sea. So now, let's turn attention to Canada and Greenland. Now, the key points here, Canada turns out to be the world's fourth largest producer of oil and natural gas. Now there's actually little produced in the Arctic itself. However, there is the potential for development in Baffin Bay, which of course is Arctic. That area is really shared with Greenland and so that's why I discuss Canada and Greenland together in this video. Now, Greenland is not a producer at present, but there is potential and that is in Baffin Bay, as I just mentioned. But this is a very controversial issue. Now, I've shown this table before, I'll show it again. I'm just looking at the four largest oil producers in the world. There's Canada sitting in right there at number four, at about 5.4 million barrels per day, remember, a barrel is 42 gallons. Remember that global energy use is something on the order of 95 million barrels a day. So that helps to put things in perspective, so Canada about 4.4. United States, remember, is the leading producer and that's at about 18 million barrels per day. Now, here's a question. Where is most of Canada's oil actually produced? Well, the answer is Alberta, in terms of provinces, I'm talking here now. Some is produced in Newfoundland and Labrador. Some is in fact produced in Saskatchewan and in Manitoba, but really the bulk of it is in Alberta. Most of that comes from the Alberta tar sands which I'm showing by this image here. It's also known as the Athabasca Oil Sands. Alberta tar sands seems to be just the more popular term. That's as shown on the oranges here, a very, very large area. This is not one contiguous area. There are a number of different areas in Alberta. These are tar sands. This is surface mined. Not like we drill in oil well, and we pump it up. These are tar sands as they're known. Environmentally, it's a very, very messy operation. You've got to pull this stuff out and basically heat it to release the bitumen. It's a very environmentally unfriendly thing to be doing, but again, where's the practical issues here, right? You got to have energy. So there's a lot of production going on in the Alberta tar sand. This image here is just showing some of the operations. Now, here's a map, I've shown this before from the USGS. This was from a survey done, I think it was in 2008, showing where it is thought that there was a lot of undiscovered oil and that's all in the green areas in the Arctic. Just to orient yourself, Greenland is in the top right-hand quarter of this figure. So anything in the green is where there's a lot. Now, if we think about Arctic Canada, it's there where I'm showing that blue oval. It is in Baffin Bay. Seems like there's a lot that can be produced in Baffin Bay. Now, there's also another area you see there that I've marked north of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, that narrow strip there. Now, huge problem, there is ice, right? Remember that from the basic circulation of the sea ice cover, this is an area where the ice tends to be forced on shore. So you have ridging and development of extremely thick ice. This would be a very, very hard place to get at. So I don't think we'd be seeing much going on there unless something drastic happen. So where the production might be occurring is in Baffin Bay. Now, let's just turn to Greenland because it's linked to what's going on in Baffin Bay, of course. Greenland may have large reserves and that's basically a lot of it, not all of it, is in Baffin Bay. Now, prospecting is taking place by Nunaoil, and this is a partnership between the Greenland Home Rule Government and the Danish State. A series of license blocks have been offered for exploration and potential development. Now here, I'm showing that same map from the USGS of undiscovered oil. Well, of course, there's Baffin Bay again, where I just stated there appears to be a lot of oil. There's also some on the other side of Greenland, on the east side of Greenland. So two basic areas with respect to Greenland's potential interest. Now, in terms of Baffin Bay, a little history here. Exploratory drilling took place in 1976 and 77, but the wells were deemed as dry. Now, a 2000 report and the subsequent USGS 2008 assessments, that's the Geologic Survey assessment I just mentioned, that it showed the map for, that pointed to a large deposits of oil and natural gas. Now, a lot of it on that Baffin Bay side, but also on the other side. Interest has grown and licenses have been awarded for exploration and potential development. This map here is showing where those license areas have been granted on the Baffin Bay side. So there's a lot of interest, is the issue, but will it be developed? We shall see. Also, you see where some of the license areas have been awarded on the other side of Greenland, on the northeastern side of Greenland. Now, here's a question. I think we should know the answer to this already, but I'll ask it again because it is important. What is the political status of Greenland? The answer is, it is part of the Kingdom of Denmark but has home rule, that's the important thing. Basically, it has home rules. It's not a totally autonomous country and know the political status is not very sketchy, it's quite well established. So herein lie some of the issues in terms of developing the oil and natural gas. Development could lead to greater economic independence from Denmark, which is something that the Greenlanders have been talking about for a long time. But on the other hand, there's also consideration that the focus in terms of Greenland economy may be shifting towards minerals and maybe away from oil and natural gas. Turns out the Inuit Circumpolar Council, the ICC, wants a broader engagement. There's also a lot of external critique. For example, European Union meddling in Greenland's affairs. Now, here's a question. Is Greenland part of the European Union? The answer is no. Denmark is, but Greenland is not. Greenland has home rule and it says, no, we're not part of the European Union. So any case, in this short video, I hope I've gotten you to understand some of the issues of oil and natural gas development and the potential for development in Canada and in Greenland. Thank you.
