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signed the Ilulissat Declaration, following the Arctic Oceans States

Conference in Ilulissat, Greenland.

The Declaration has four main

Arctic goals: to safeguard stability and predictability in policy; to create sustainable management of the region; to strengthen international cooperation and legal order controlling its use; and to strengthen value creation and employment to support development. Key elements to achieving the

Ilulissat Declaration’s goals involve: planning for continual presence (including new settlement patterns), ongoing industry activity, continued research, and knowledge gathering eia to expand factual understanding of late 1970s. If anything, Arctic status in the Arctic Council. The the region and its challenges.

development requires the stamina promise of energy reserves and the These challenges include and perseverance of a marathon by uncertainty of climate change are environmental sensitivity, low both companies and governments. driving widespread interest in the exploration activity due to limited Industry experts gathered in Arctic, he said, exemplifed by the data, political decisions regarding

Houston in December at the formulation of arctic or high north sea boundaries and territorial

Arctic Technology Conference to policies in many countries. jurisdiction, economics of review progress and share recent The invitation extended to the operating in the Arctic conditions, developments. The conference Consul General was appropriate, competition for resources, and the opened with a plenary session as Norway plays an important role harsh environment in which people that provided an overview of in arctic development, particularly and equipment must operate. technological advances and with regard to natural resources. perspectives on future activity. It is the world’s third largest Barents 2020 Project exporter of natural gas and the ffth In September 2010, Russia and

Norway largest exporter of oil. According Norway signed a treaty on maritime

The Consul General of Norway, to the Royal Norwegian Consulate delimitation and cooperation in

Jostein Mykletun, was the opening General, more than 140 Norwegian the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean, speaker and his plenary speech companies are established in removing a serious impediment focused on the forces driving, and Houston, the largest concentration to future development and strategy behind, the Norwegian of Norwegian energy companies demonstrating that longstanding government’s High North Policy. abroad. differences can be resolved. The Mykletun said there is no energy Various Norwegian companies treaty was ratifed by a Russian ‘race’ in the Arctic, nor a ‘sprint’ for were represented at the conference, State Duma vote in March 2011.

the Arctic Ocean. On the contrary, including Statoil (also a sponsor), Barents 2020 (B2020) is a project he said, Norway is cooperating with DNV, Axess, Aker Solutions, Frank between Norway and Russia that neighboring countries to sustainably Mohn Houston, Kongsberg Oil & had four phases, according to develop arctic resources ‘based on Gas Technologies, MARINTEK and Sigurd Robert Jacobsen, principal sound environmental stewardship’. TECHNI. Norwegian institutions engineer at Petroleum Safety

Norway aims to be a responsible represented included the University Authority Norway (PSAN, actor in the region, which the of Stavanger, the Petroleum www.ptil.no). The project

Consul General characterized as Safety Authority (Ptil), INTSOK, recommended uniform safety ‘High North–Low Tension’. Innovation Norway, and the Royal levels, a predictable HSE framework He discussed the importance of Norwegian Consulate in Houston. and improved basis for future the UN Convention on the Law cooperation in the Arctic, and of the Sea, the Arctic Council, Ilulissat Declaration identifed areas that need updated and the interest of non-Arctic In May 2008, Canada, Denmark, standards, documented in position countries seeking observer Norway, Russia and the US papers and reports. In phase four,

OE | January 2013 oedigital.com 50 oe_ArcticTech.indd 50 03/01/2013 13:40