Posted on December 18, 2023
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Norway’s minority center-left government and two large opposition parties made a deal this week to open the Arctic Ocean to seabed mineral exploration despite warnings by environmental groups that it would threaten the biodiversity of the vulnerable ecosystems in the area.
Norway said in June it wanted to open parts of the Norwegian continental shelf for commercial deep sea mining in line with the country’s strategy to seek new economic opportunities and reduce its reliance on oil and gas.
The head of Greenpeace Norway, Frode Pleym, said the decision was “a disaster for the sea” and the mining would take place in “our last wilderness.”
From left, Terje Halleland, Aleksander Oren Heen, Marianne Sivertsen Naess and Bard Ludvig Thorheim give a joint news conference Tuesday in Oslo, Norway, on a new seabed mineral exploration deal.
“We do not know what consequences this will have for the ecosystems in the sea, for endangered species such as whales and seabirds, or for the fish stocks on which we base our livelihood,” he said.
Martin Sveinssønn Melvær of the Norwegian Bellona environmental group said the move was “completely contrary to scientific recommendations” and believed it was “a dangerous derailment in the fight against climate change to open up seabed minerals.”
The government — made up of the Labor and the Center Party — made the deal with the conservatives from Hoeyre and the Progress Party, Norwegian news agency NTB said.
It said they had agreed on a step-by-step opening process where the Norwegian parliament, or Stortinget, will approve the first development projects, in the same way as it has done for certain extraction projects in the petroleum sector.
According to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, there are sulphides and manganese crusts containing metals and minerals that are crucial for making batteries, wind turbines, PCs and mobile phones.
If proven to be profitable, and if extraction can be done sustainably, seabed mineral activities can strengthen the economy, including employment in Norway, while ensuring the supply of crucial metals for the world’s transition to sustainable energy, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy said in June.
The planned area is located southwest of the Arctic island of Svalbard.
States With the Most Oil Reserves
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Like many sectors of the economy, the energy industry has faced new challenges as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Shifts in demand, production capacity, and distribution networks related to the virus have led to imbalances in supply and demand. Businesses and consumers who rely on petroleum and its byproducts are now confronting shortages in supply—and seeing higher prices as a result.
While the current conditions are unique and likely temporary, concerns about oil shortages are nothing new. Since before the energy crisis of the 1970s, experts have warned of “peak oil”—the point at which oil production from available reserves reaches maximum capacity and begins to diminish. But despite predictions that oil production is poised for decline, advances in geological understanding and technology like horizontal drilling and fracking have actually expanded production in recent years.
These new techniques were first widely adopted in the early to mid-2000s, and since then, the oil business in the U.S. has transformed. From the early 1980s to around 2008, U.S. oil production fell from 3.1 billion barrels to 1.8 billion per year while oil imports more than doubled from 2.1 billion to around 5 billion. Since then, imports have fallen sharply while production and exports have grown. Oil production today is over 4 billion barrels annually, and in 2020, the U.S. became a net exporter of oil for the first time.
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The US became a net exporter of oil in 2020 for the first time ever
One important metric for capturing the growth in the oil industry in the U.S. is proved reserves. The U.S. Energy Information Administration defines proved reserves as the estimated volume of hydrocarbon resources that are recoverable under current economic and operating conditions, which can shift based on new discoveries, shifts in production capacity, or improved techniques and technologies. Proved reserves in the U.S. had peaked historically at 39 billion barrels in the early 1970s before falling by more than half, to 19 billion, in 2008. In the years since, proved reserves have spiked to above 44 billion barrels as new extraction techniques have taken hold.
15. Michigan
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Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 48
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -9.4%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -5
Number of operating refineries: 1
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14. Ohio
Photo Credit: Chubykin Arkady / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 88
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): +12.8%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): +10
Number of operating refineries: 4
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13. Mississippi
Photo Credit: Pete Niesen / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 114
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -50.4%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -116
Number of operating refineries: 2
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12. Utah
Photo Credit: Mark Smith / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 275
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -50.5%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -280
Number of operating refineries: 5
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11. Montana
Photo Credit: Rui Serra Maia / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 298
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -32.9%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -146
Number of operating refineries: 4
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10. Kansas
Photo Credit: Robert D Brozek / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 313
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -24.4%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -101
Number of operating refineries: 3
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9. Louisiana
Photo Credit: robcocquyt / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 389
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -27.2%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -145
Number of operating refineries: 14
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8. Wyoming
Photo Credit: Jim Parkin / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 1,013
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): +6.3%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): +60
Number of operating refineries: 4
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7. Colorado
Photo Credit: Bridget Calip / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 1,414
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): +17.8%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): +214
Number of operating refineries: 2
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6. Oklahoma
Photo Credit: Vineyard Perspective / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 2,047
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): +64.9%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): +806
Number of operating refineries: 5
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5. California
Photo Credit: Richard Thornton / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 2,213
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -22.5%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -641
Number of operating refineries: 14
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4. Alaska
Photo Credit: dani3315 / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 2,680
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -6.1%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -175
Number of operating refineries: 5
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3. New Mexico
Photo Credit: R. Wellen Photography / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 3,456
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): +134.1%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): +1,980
Number of operating refineries: 1
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2. North Dakota
Photo Credit: Steve Oehlenschlager / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 5,897
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): -2.4%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): -146
Number of operating refineries: 1
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1. Texas
Photo Credit: Jim Parkin / Shutterstock
Crude oil proved reserves (million barrels): 18,622
5-year change in proved reserves (percent): +51.7%
5-year change in proved reserves (million barrels): +6,350
Number of operating refineries: 30
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