The seabed has been kind to Norway.
The Nordic nation is among the world’s wealthiest per capita thanks in part to offshore oil and gas production. The fossil fuels account for most of Norway’s export revenue and over 20% of GDP. Oil and gas were a big reason why so many Norwegians could afford to be early adopters of electric cars. Go figure.
Now, Norway is scouring its seabed for a new set of resources.
The country will open its waters to exploration for seabed mining, according to a government agreement struck this month. The full Norwegian parliament is expected to approve the decision following debate next month.
Earlier this year, the government proposed opening a swath of Arctic Ocean nearly the size of the UK and Ireland for seabed mineral exploration. Halfway between mainland Norway and Greenland, the region contains nearly double the amount of copper mined globally each year, plus cobalt, zinc and rare earths, according to a government report.
International reaction has been mixed.
In October, the Biden administration noted Norway’s “ambition to be world leader in profitable, prudent, and sustainable utilization of its seabed mineral resources.” As the U.S. seeks alternatives to Chinese-controlled minerals supply chains, Norway’s seabed could prove attractive.
But some of Norway’s neighbors are less enthused. Seven EU member countries have called for a global pause on deep seabed mining until more is learned about its possible harms. The European Academies’ Science Advisory Council has echoed those calls and cast doubt on claims that seabed mining is needed to avoid global metals shortfalls.
There’s no guarantee that Norway’s recent moves will open the door to commercial mining at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean—subsequent parliamentary approval would be required for any operation to move from exploration to exploitation.
But the controversy highlights something that sometimes flies under the radar in media coverage of seabed mining: The International Seabed Authority isn’t the only game in town.
True, the ISA regulates the high seas beyond national control, which is most of the ocean. But the ISA operates largely by consensus—in other words: slowly. The world’s first deep seabed mining operation could be greenlit by a single government within its own exclusive economic zone. And it could happen sooner than many expect.
(Header image by Bjoertvedt - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22015407)