DENMARK: Denmark aims to claim the North Pole and hunt for oil in high Arctic regions that may become more accessible because of global warming, its Science Ministry said yesterday.
It said Denmark would send an expedition to try to prove the seabed beneath the Pole was a natural continuation of Greenland, the world's biggest island and a Danish territory whose northern tip is just 725 kilometres from the Pole.
Science Minister Helge Sander said last week success would give Denmark access to "new resources such as oil and natural gas".
The potential return would outweigh the 150 million crowns (€20 million) that Denmark has allocated to the investigation.
The Danish bid rests on a UN convention allowing coastal nations to claim rights to offshore seabed resources. Countries that ratify it have 10 years to prove they have a fair claim to the territory and its resources.
Other claimants to the area include Russia, Canada and Norway. The US may also make a claim.