State-Owned Enterprises in the Arctic

Abstract

Economic activities in the Arctic play an increasingly important role in the globalizing economy, given that such economies are largely based on natural resources (oil, gas, and minerals), as well as the long-distance transportation of these resources and related goods (such as shipping). The Arctic appears to be one of the last opportunities for global resource exploitation that, ironically, is made possible by the negative effects of this very exploitation in the form of global warming and subsequent receding ice coverage of the circumpolar North. In other words, the Arctic already has, and increasingly will, become more, a part of economic globalization. However, this paper will not discuss if this evolution is either plausible or desirable. Instead, we assume that, given the currently unaltered dynamics of industrial development, this evolution will take place. However, its pace will significantly depend upon the combined effects of several factors: The speed at which Arctic ice is receding; the long-term development of global oil and gas prices; the speed at which fossil fuels will be substituted by alternative energy sources; technological progress in matters of resource; extraction; and (geo-)politics.