By Timothy Gardner and Andrea Shalal-Esa
WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) - As Arctic ice melts away,opening the way for greater oil development and mining, theWhite House outlined a plan on Thursday to promote safety andsecurity in the region by building ports, improving forecasts ofsea ice, and developing shipping rules.
With warmer temperatures leaving Arctic sea passages openfor longer periods of the year, billions of barrels of oil couldbe tapped beyond what is already being produced in the region. Aloss of seasonal ice could also allow greater exploitation ofprecious minerals considered abundant in the Arctic.
Extreme weather conditions, however, make the region achallenge to navigate and develop.
The White House plan was released on the same day that RoyalDutch Shell canceled drilling this year off Alaska,after a series of costly mishaps in the harsh conditions, aspart of efforts to cut spending.
The U.S. Defense Department will lead an interagency effortto forecast icy conditions by launching a satellite andimproving analytic methods to forecast icy conditions.
The Department of Commerce, meanwhile, will leadcoordination on surveying and charting of U.S. Arctic waters toease shipping and improve adaptation to climate change incoastal communities.
"Our highest priority is to protect the American people, oursovereign territory and rights and the natural resources andother interests of the United States," said the plan, which ispart of President Barack Obama's National Strategy for theArctic Region he announced last May. The plan can be seen at:
In addition, the State Department will attempt to reach anagreement with Canada on the Beaufort Sea maritime boundary, andthe Department of Homeland Security will lead work on developingan international code for ships operating in polar waters.
Norwegian Ambassador Kare Aas welcomed the U.S. plan andsaid it would help Norway and the United States identify newareas for collaboration as both countries addressed thechallenges and opportunities emerging in the Arctic region.
"We will continue to work with our American friends toensure that the Arctic remains a peaceful region of cooperationand sustainable development," Aas said in a statement.
The U.S. military had been working on strategy in the Arcticbefore the plan was announced on Thursday.
The U.S. Navy is nearing completion of a new Arctic "roadmap" that lays out its approach to future engagements in theregion, given increasingly open waterways. The updated documentis based on the Navy's first comprehensive assessment of thenear-term, mid-term and long-term availability of sea passages,due to the loss of seasonal ice.
In a recent blog written for the Navy's website, NavyOceanographer Rear Admiral Jon White said an inter-agency teammade the assessment after a comprehensive review of currentArctic sea-ice projections.
He said current trends were expected to continue in thenear-term, with the Bering Strait expected to see openconditions about 160 days a year by 2020. The mid-term periodwould see increasing levels of ice melt, White said.
In the long-term, beyond 2030, environmental conditions areexpected to leave waterways open for longer periods, driving asignificant increase in traffic in the summer months.
Earlier this month, Chief of Naval Operations AdmiralJonathan Greenert told a conference that Arctic ice was meltingfaster than predicted four years ago when the Navy published itsfirst road map.
"We need to understand, we need to take a look at it anddecide what does it mean to us for security, maritime security,freedom of navigation, and global force management," Greenerttold a conference hosted by the Surface Navy Association.
