Directions (next 10 questions) : Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions. Certain words/phrases are given in bold to help you locate them, while answering some of the questions.
In 2012, the Arctic was hot. But while it still matters for environmental reasons, the surge of interest in its economy has ebbed. That surge was driven by three things. First, the Arctic contains vast amounts of energy which could become accessible as the world warms and the ice retreats in summer. The US Geological Survey has said that about a quarter of the world’s undiscovered oil and gas lies in Arctic waters. Send, the melting ice allows cargo ships to sail round Russia’s northern coast for about two months in summer. This cuts the distance for ships travelling from Shanghai to Rotterdam by almost a quarter and the transit time by about two weeks. It was once said the Northern Sea Route would one day rival the Suez Canal as the best way to ship goods from East Asia to Europe. Third, the Arctic seemed a model of international co-operation. The eight countries with territory inside the Arctic Circle settled through the Arctic Council, originally a scientific forum which in 2011-13 signed its first treaties, on search and rescue missions and cleaning up oil spills. Nothing exemplified is popularity better than the r4ush of tropical Asian countries to join. China, India and Singapore were granted observer status in 2013.
But since mid-2014, the Arctic’s allure has lessened. Its energy is pricey. Even at $100 a barrel, many fields were marginal because the weather is so extreme. A Russian and Norwegian firm together developing one of the largest gasfields ever discovered, mothballed the project in 2012. With oil at $50 a barrel, few Arctic fields would be economic. Energy exploration in the Arctic fields would be economic. Energy exploration in the Arctic is in fact referred to by some as a licence to lose money. With regard to the Northern Sea Route- In 2013, 71 ships traversed Russia’s Arctic, according to the Northern Sea Route information Office: a large increase since 2010, when the number was just four. But 16,000 ships passed through the Suez Canal between Europe and Asia in 2013, so the northern route is not starting to compete. In 2014 traffic alone the Northern Sea Route fell to 53 ships, only four of which sailed from Asia and docked in Europe (the rest went from one Russian port to another). The route does not yet link Europe and East Asia. The decline in 2014 was partly caused by the weather. Less sea ice melted last summer than in 2013, so the route was more dangerous. But its limitations go beyond that. Cutting a week or two off transit time is not the benefit it may seem if the vessel arrives a day late. In shipping, just-in-time arrival matters, not only speed. The new-generation container ships are too cumbersome to use the Arctic so, as these become more common, the northern route becomes less attractive.
The Arctic council continues to expand: it is setting up a new economic body to boost business. But however much its members co-operate, the council cannot offset hostilities between Russia and the West-hostilities which affect the Arctic, too. Russia is stepping up its military operations there. This does not mean fighting is about to break out in the Arctic; nor are shipping and energy exploration about to end.