Canadian Arctic Offshore Oil and Natural Gas and European Union Energy Diversification: Towards a New Perspective?

Abstract

Events shape and in turn are shaped by developments in Arctic ocean policy. Nowhere is this truer than of the ever-changing Arctic environment, which is in turn shaping and being shaped by a global demand for secure sources of future oil and natural gas supplies. As the polar ice cap progressively shrinks, and industry interest in the Arctic quickens, Canadians are confronting the challenges of developing their Arctic hydrocarbon resources. In Canada these conflicting objectives have led to innovative regulatory policies accommodating stakeholder desires on the one hand and environmental and economic considerations on the other. The European Union (EU) similarly has multiple objectives intersecting with its Arctic interests.