It only took two centuries to get around to it, but Canada and the US will finally begin negotiations to fix the international boundary in the Beaufort Sea.This week, the governments of both countries announced the creation of a joint task force to determine the maritime boundary on the sea floor.“In a rapidly changing Arctic marked by new challenges and increased strategic competition, the region has become a growing focus for the United States and Canada. Our common interests in the region have served as the foundation of our bilateral Arctic relations for many decades and will continue to guide our Arctic cooperation in the future,” said a joint statement from the US State Department and Global Affairs Canada. The announcement was made in conjunction with the United Nations’ annual general assembly in New York.The task force will formally begin deliberations this fall. Up for discussion are the international boundaries of the Beaufort Sea, including resolving the overlap in the continental shelf in the Central Arctic Ocean. The area at issue is situated north of Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories..Late last year, the US filed a continental shelf claim with The United Nations that includes a large chunk of the Beaufort Sea floor that Canada also seeks to control. Both countries have put a growing focus on Arctic sovereignty amid challenges from countries such as Russia and China.At issue is the wording of an Anglo-Russian treaty dating back to 1825 which was subsequently inherited by the US when it bought Alaska in 1867 — Canada inherited it from England in 1880.The US purchased the Last Frontier from Czar Alexander II for the tidy sum of USD$7.2 million — a bargain at $129 million in today’s dollars — to help him pay for the Crimean War.The Czar never got his money’s worth. At stake in the negotiations are potentially trillions of dollars worth of undiscovered oil and gas reserves along with untold amounts of minerals like gold.In 2008, the US Geologic Survey estimated the area north of the Arctic Circle could hold more than 100 billion barrels of recoverable oil and liquids along with 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas..Canada’s share amounts to about 20 billion barrels according to the Geological Survey of Canada. Not that it matters — the entire offshore area has been off limits to oil and gas drilling and licensing since 2019.Still, that could change pending land claims settlements with Inuit peoples, which will figure prominently in the negotiations. According to the statement: “Canada and the United States will work collaboratively toward a final agreement that will provide clarity on our Arctic maritime boundaries, bearing in mind the responsible conservation and sustainable use of Arctic resources for the mutual benefit of Americans and Canadians, including indigenous peoples.” In addition to the Beaufort, Canada has three international boundary disputes with Denmark over Hans Island, and other Arctic states including Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden over the Northwest Passage.
It only took two centuries to get around to it, but Canada and the US will finally begin negotiations to fix the international boundary in the Beaufort Sea.This week, the governments of both countries announced the creation of a joint task force to determine the maritime boundary on the sea floor.“In a rapidly changing Arctic marked by new challenges and increased strategic competition, the region has become a growing focus for the United States and Canada. Our common interests in the region have served as the foundation of our bilateral Arctic relations for many decades and will continue to guide our Arctic cooperation in the future,” said a joint statement from the US State Department and Global Affairs Canada. The announcement was made in conjunction with the United Nations’ annual general assembly in New York.The task force will formally begin deliberations this fall. Up for discussion are the international boundaries of the Beaufort Sea, including resolving the overlap in the continental shelf in the Central Arctic Ocean. The area at issue is situated north of Alaska, Yukon and the Northwest Territories..Late last year, the US filed a continental shelf claim with The United Nations that includes a large chunk of the Beaufort Sea floor that Canada also seeks to control. Both countries have put a growing focus on Arctic sovereignty amid challenges from countries such as Russia and China.At issue is the wording of an Anglo-Russian treaty dating back to 1825 which was subsequently inherited by the US when it bought Alaska in 1867 — Canada inherited it from England in 1880.The US purchased the Last Frontier from Czar Alexander II for the tidy sum of USD$7.2 million — a bargain at $129 million in today’s dollars — to help him pay for the Crimean War.The Czar never got his money’s worth. At stake in the negotiations are potentially trillions of dollars worth of undiscovered oil and gas reserves along with untold amounts of minerals like gold.In 2008, the US Geologic Survey estimated the area north of the Arctic Circle could hold more than 100 billion barrels of recoverable oil and liquids along with 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas..Canada’s share amounts to about 20 billion barrels according to the Geological Survey of Canada. Not that it matters — the entire offshore area has been off limits to oil and gas drilling and licensing since 2019.Still, that could change pending land claims settlements with Inuit peoples, which will figure prominently in the negotiations. According to the statement: “Canada and the United States will work collaboratively toward a final agreement that will provide clarity on our Arctic maritime boundaries, bearing in mind the responsible conservation and sustainable use of Arctic resources for the mutual benefit of Americans and Canadians, including indigenous peoples.” In addition to the Beaufort, Canada has three international boundary disputes with Denmark over Hans Island, and other Arctic states including Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden over the Northwest Passage.
