Frozen assets

For centuries the Northwest passage linking the Atlantic and the Pacific was little more than a myth that tempted only the most daring polar explorers.

Picking their way through the treacherous year-long ice of the high Arctic, many of these brave individuals, spurred on by the prospect of opening up new trade routes, died searching for this fabled sea crossing.

The passage was finally navigated for the first time in 1905, but it took Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen two and half years of ice-bound hardship to achieve the feat and it did not bring the prospect of trans-Arctic shipping routes much closer to reality.

That is now changing fast. This year, for the first time in recorded history, the entire route became ice-free.

And although the ice is now re-freezing, the thaw has triggered a rash of territorial claims from everyone with a potential stake in the Arctic. In the summer, a Russian mini-sub planted a flag on the sea bed beneath the North pole in an aggressive show of sovereignty. In response, Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper announced he was investing billions of dollars in specially-adapted military patrol ships and a new deep-water port.

Beyond the prospect of controlling hugely important new shipping routes, perhaps the biggest reason for the increasingly hawkish stance of the countries in the region is the trillions of dollars worth of oil, gas and mineral reserves that are thought to lie beneath the Arctic ice.

But while the prize may be huge, the costs are also high, and behind the talk of an Arctic fuel bonanza lie a series of significant engineering challenges that cannot be solved overnight.

The Arctic environment is more technically and physically demanding than any other faced by the oil and gas industry. To locate, extract and transport the prizes beneath the ice, billions of pounds will need to be invested in specially designed drilling platforms, tankers and support ships that can operate safely and effectively in extreme conditions. The Engineer has learned that, to achieve this, something of a crash course in Arctic engineering is required.

Andrew Kendrick, vice-president of engineering consultant BMT Fleet Tech, has been involved in the engineering challenges of the Arctic for much of his career. He said the fossil fuels industry faces a considerable knowledge gap when it comes to Arctic ice. ‘We’re currently working for many of the oil companies directly on things to do with ice and they are desperately crying out for support from people who can give them some level of technical assistance’.

He said while the oil and gas industry built up some knowledge on ice the last time it looked at the Arctic during the late 1970s, much of this expertise was lost when the price of oil collapsed in the 1980s.

But why is there such a pressing need for expertise if the ice is melting? Why not wait for the danger to pass, then use traditional technologies? According to ice engineering expert Prof Claude Daley, this is not an option.