GREENLAND
Business in Greenland
Greenland’s
Minerals
new jobs in
The supply
industry
Oil and gas
in the
first well
Many prospecting
companies searching for minerals in
Greenland
Side 6-7
Mineral extraction
will provide
new business
opportunities.
Side 8
The whole world
joins the hunt for
oil and minerals
in Greenland
Side 11
GREENLAND
2
liquid fuel products
The key to business life
in the land of opportunities
The Employers’ Association of Greenland is the leading organisation on the
Greenlandic labour market. It is not only the hub of the country’s business
community, but also takes part in the public debate in many other areas
02
The key to business
life in the land of
opportunities
04 National and regional
business development
05 Greenlandic
experience is essential
06 Greenland’s minerals
08
The supply industry
must provide jobs, and
thereby development
10
The economic
climate 2010
11
Oil and gas in
the first test well
12
Hydropower from
the inland ice
14
3G and All IP in 2014
15
Growing into the future
dic success in the international competition for innovation,
growth and jobs will be to create the optimal environment
for this development, not least
in relation to involving Greenland’s own workforce, to the
greatest possible extent, in the
country’s future industrial development. This is a cardinal
point for society, and therefore
also for the Employers’ Association of Greenland. On the basis
of solid national roots, and with
a thorough knowledge of the local climate, nature and culture,
GA’s task is therefore to help to
secure the best possibilities to
establish, operate and develop
more businesses in Greenland.
In a country where the public
sector economy has hitherto
been dominant, the development of a stronger private sector
is crucial for a positive business
development - and thereby for
the possibility of creating a society in social balance.
The globalised market and
the major foreign investments
will impose increased demands
on Greenlandic businesses and
on their ability to compete. As
mentioned, the Employers’ Association of Greenland is the country’s largest business network,
in which the knowledge and
skills of companies are developed through courses, conferences and focused information
work. These efforts have concentrated particularly on requirements towards safety, flexibility
and adaptability which can live
up to international standards.
Another important task is
to make knowledge available
to companies wishing to settle
in Greenland: operating under
arctic conditions requires insight, experience and local commitment.
Social responsibility
and networks
One of the new initiatives which
has been set up at the request
of the Employers’ Association
of Greenland and some of our
member companies is CSR
Greenland. We view working
with a coherent and well-structured CSR policy as a natural
part of our tasks in the field of
business ethics - and we do this
both on the basis of a national
tradition of showing social responsibility, and with a focus on
the demands of international
companies towards Corporate
Social Responsibility.
With its great level of support, the Employers’ Association of Greenland is the natural
linchpin for the country’s business community. It is thus the
key to creating optimal conditions for business, including future businesses in both existing and new industries. We are
therefore pleased to provide
knowledge and information
about both business structures
and other social factors of significance for achieving results in
Greenland.
Our prOfile & missiOn
We are the largest oil supply company
in Greenland.
We buy, transport, store, distribute and
sell consumer and environmental liquid
fuels throughout the year to the whole
of Greenland at the lowest possible,
stable prices.
We buy, store and sell other technical
and related products where this can be
done on commercial terms.
Henrik Sørensen
Chairman, Employers’ Association
of Greenland
Our links with kni A/s
where we Are
Greenland
Polaroil operates all over Greenland.
Towns
Polaroil operates manned tank farms
in all towns.
Settlements
Polaroil has tank facilities in all settlements which in accordance with a
service contract are manned by Pilersuisoq.
We are part of Kni a/S. Polaroil is Kni’s
Energy division.
Henrik Sørensen is chairman of the
Employers’ Association of Greenland,
which works to secure the best
opportunities to establish, operate
and develop businesses in Greenland.
Experience combined with
visions for the future
The prerequisite for Greenlan-
INFO
UP
Kalaallit Nunaanni Sulisitsisut Peqatigiiffiat
Front Communication
Grønlands Arbejdsgiverforening
This supplement has been produced by UP Front Communication
www.ga.gl
HANS BAK
Kalaallit Nunaanni Sulisitsisut Peqatigiiffiat
The
Employers’
Association of Greenland
Grønlands
Arbejdsgiverforening
www.ga.gl
we are able to supply
mining and Oil industry in Greenland
with liquid fuel products
ProjectProjektleder/Direktør
manager/director / Hans Bak ■ Editor/journalist / Stig Albeck
Graphic design / PoLa Grafisk: Mogens Lauridsen
Photographers / Lars Weiss, Esben Hardt, AceAndAce
■ Print / Trykkeriet Nordvest Sjælland ■ Translation / O’Shea Translations
■
■
■
UP Front Communicantion
Ehlersvej 11
2900 Hellerup
Tel.
+45 3948 1830
mobil +45 6035 4501
mail
[email protected]
Kni a/S is wholly-owned by Greenland
home rule.
prOducts
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Arcticgasoil–AGO-27
Motorgasoil–MGO-20
DieselFuelArctic–DFA-47
Gasoline
Petroleum
JetA-1
IFO30
IFO180
inFO dESiGn aPS nuuK 2/2011
INSIDE
As an employers’ organisation,
the role of the Employers’ Association of Greenland (GA) is of
course primarily to secure the
best possible terms for business,
and to represent the interests
of the business community towards politicians and the public authorities. At the same time,
GA devotes a great deal of focus
to skills enhancement and to
ensuring that companies and
their staff are well prepared for
the future. But on the basis of its
significant membership growth
and consequent influence in society generally, GA is also attentive to such areas as infrastructure, education and social issues.
Through a proactive information policy, GA is a committed
participant in the public debate;
often in interplay with the other
partners in the labour market and with a special emphasis on
constructive dialogue with the
country’s political leadership.
The level of economic activity in Greenland will obviously increase significantly if the
many foreign investments in
mineral resource exploration
turn into actual oil and mineral extraction. This will open up
new opportunities for Greenlandic businesses, particularly in the ancillary and service
industries. At the same time,
Greenland’s other business
sectors, such as fishing, food
processing and tourism, are enjoying a period of growth, and
are increasingly competing on
global terms. So irrespective
of whether the expected activities in the mining area - sooner or later - affect the economic picture, the country’s existing businesses will continue to
provide a foundation for the economic development which is so
necessary for Greenland.
P.O.BOx 3030 · 3911 SiSimiut · GrEEnland
PhOnE.: +299 86 24 44 · Fax: +299 86 62 63
hOw tO cOntAct
pOlArOil:
Peter Grønvold Samuelsen
managing director
[email protected]
Tage Lindegaard
technical manager
[email protected]
Jens Bonfils
locistics manager
[email protected]
GREENLAND
5
4
GREENLAND
Greenlandic
experience is essential
With arctic conditions, logistically challenging towns and CSR as a part
of daily life, high demands are made of the experience of Greenlandic
businesses in functioning as an active part of the local community.
National and regional
business development
Martin Kviesgaard regards it as a major social
responsibility to run the
Bank of Greenland as a
strong and reliable bank
that customers can trust,
and which supports
entrepreneurship.
The retail sector in Greenland is a good example of
the kind of extensive and
responsible planning work,
and in particular experience, that is required in
order to operate in Greenlandic society. Many different skills are involved, and
many factors must be taken into account, if you are
to present the right service
and always have the right
assortment on the shelves.
One company with
many years of experience in
Greenland is Stark, which
has shops in five towns:
Qaqortoq, Nuuk, Sisimiut,
Aasiaat and Ilulissat. Stark’s
timber manager, Poul Erik
Nørnberg, is in doubt about
the essential factors for success: “Meticulousness is the
key word in all respects both towards our custom-
ers and employees, and in
a purely logistical sense.
We have for example shops
in two towns which are icebound in winter, and with
four months without shipping, we need to be able to
predict the local market
needs far in advance.”
An active partner
It is important in all businesses to know your customers’ needs, but in Greenland this has special significance. “We are close to our
customers, in small communities. Our staff will inevitably meet the customers in other contexts, so we
must be careful to adapt
and deliver correctly every
time,” says Poul Erik.
CSR is something else
that comes naturally to
Stark. “Skills enhancement
is highly valuable, both for
Greenland and for the individual. We focus for example
on taking on local apprentices and providing them with
an all-round sales training,
which they can either use
at Stark or somewhere else.
Training is central to our
business, but we also provide
a wide springboard for other
opportunities in the future,”
says Poul Erik, who also mentions local commitment as
a key element of running a
business in Greenland.
The future
depends on experience
”We emphasise active participation in the local community. As an employer, we
feel an obligation to help to
develop the towns in which
we are based,” says Poul
Erik, who sees potential in
”We emphasise being an
active participant in the
community,” says Poul Erik
Nørnberg, managing director
of Stark.
meticulousness and commitment.
The anticipated growth
in the oil and mining industry may lead to orders from
the ancillary industry, or as
a result of a general increase
in economic activity. “We
are ready for growth, and for
the future development in
our customers, through our
experience with delivering
supplies in arctic conditions,
and our local commitment.”
Operating companies in an arctic climate, with towns that
are icebound in winter, places great demands on experience,
processes and skills.
E ntrepreneurship, good advice and sound financial sense are the keys
to the development of Greenlandic businesses. The government’s work
to establish a new business promotion structure is a central element
The Government of Greenland has begun the work
of creating a new business
promotion structure to enhance development in the
private sector, which will
be the foundation for a substantial proportion of the
country’s future prosperity. ”The government’s aim
with its regional development strategy is to create
more growth companies,
increase productivity, and
ensure a greater degree
of self-sufficiency in the
country,” says Ove Karl Berthelsen, Minister for Industry and Mineral Resources.
In recognition of the
major differences in the future business structure between the country’s various regions, the government has decided to develop the strategy with
a regional focus. ”It is essential that we do not forget the outlying districts
in our vast country when
business needs to be developed. We are therefore in
the process of establishing
a regional development
strategy in which each of
the six regions will have a
business development plan
based on their own unique
potential, ”says Ove Karl
Berthelsen. The strategy
is being compiled in close
co-operation with the four
new municipalities.
Bank of Greenland director Martin Kviesgaard
agrees with the goal of the
government’s
strategy:
”The government’s goal of
developing the business environment is a basic prerequisite to allow even more
economically sustainable
enterprises to be created.”
A strong financial partner
Business development cannot be created without
good ideas and the funds
to support them. Martin
Kviesgaard therefore sees
a major social responsibility in the way in which the
Bank of Greenland carries
on its business. ”A strong
and reliable bank is one
that has a sound financial
”The government’s aim
is to create more growth
companies,” says Ove Karl
Berthelsen.
basis, and is therefore able
to lend money, which allows the crucial balancing
of maximum long-term
growth versus risks. This
applies both to individual
companies and to the Bank
of Greenland. The Bank of
Greenland is and must be
ready to help to finance the
share of Greenlandic companies in, for example, the
expected ancillary industries in the minerals sector.”
At the close of the third
quarter this year, the Bank
of Greenland had a strong
surplus of DKK 77.5 million, and thanks to sound
business policies, the bank
has not had any difficulty
in obtaining external financing outside the recent
bank packages. ”For 43
years, through economic
upturns and downturns,
the Bank of Greenland has
been a solid player on the
market, with whom customers have been confident to save their money.
This is an important signal, and one which helps
to ensure we can fulfil our
role in society,” says Martin
Kviesgaard.
The vital
entrepreneurship
At the turn of the year, the
advice service for entrepreneurs was transferred to
Greenland’s municipal development corporations,
to ensure that guidance is
as locally-based as possible
for users around the coun-
try. The guidance is supported by a massive public
campaign to boost skills
through courses offered by
the country’s trade schools.
The Government of
Greenland has also allocated funds to support product development. As Ove
Karl Berthelsen says: ”In
Greenland, we possess both
enterprise and resourcefulness. There are plenty of
good ideas here - the challenge is to create a framework to help these ideas
onto a viable level that will
generate jobs and profits.”
A concrete initiative in
this area is the new entrepreneur centre in Nuuk,
where the emphasis is on
companies that can promote exports or reduce imports. The key words here
are sparring about innovation, creativity, sustainability and growth. The
Bank of Greenland is also
involved in this work, as
Martin Kviesgaard mentions: ”The Bank of Greenland makes its knowledge
and experience available through, for example,
teaching evenings and entrepreneur days.
These activities are attended with great interest,
and round about in Greenland we can see that they
are backed up by initiatives
large and small in, for example, the tourist area and
in the formation of partnerships in the mining ancillary industries.”
According to Martin
Kviesgaard, collaboration
models, along with skills
enhancement, represents
the way forward. As an example, he mentions the
growth of recent years in
the Canadian town of St.
Lawrence. ”If oil is found,
or if a large mine or aluminium plant is established, then Greenland today might very well be St.
Lawrence minus 15 years.
There are now 8,000 landbased Canadian jobs there
as a result of mining investments and many new local
initiatives.”
Core drilling
Transportation
Camp solutions
Catering
Contractor service
Construction and plant
Maritime tasks
Consultancy services
Greenland Mining Services A/S
Phone +299 32 79 13 • Phone +299 64 70 70
www.gms.gl
GREENLAND
7
6
“Gold is our core area, but
nickel, copper, tungsten
and strategically important
rare earths constitute a
growing share of our activities,” says Ole Christiansen,
managing director of
NunaMinerals A/S.
Oil, gas, minerals and other business
opportunities.
Greenland has it all.
Including a law firm that knows what
you need and how to deal with it.
Greenland’s
minerals
Nuna Law Firm is the leading law firm in Greenland. We have had our
offices in Nuuk for more than 40 years and possess an extensive
experience within all the special conditions in Greenland.
Twenty to thirty prospecting companies are hunting for mineral
resources in Greenland over an area of 20,000 km2. Along with
the companies will come investments that will turn Greenland
into an industrial nation
Mineral prospecting in
Greenland has gathered
considerable pace in recent
years, and the investments,
measured per unit of land,
are now on a par with those
of traditional mining countries such as Australia and
Canada. This opens up
prospects for the development of Greenland into an
industrial society.
The NunaMinerals company is one of the local exploration companies who
have licenses and concession shares throughout all
of Greenland. Ole Christiansen, the company’s
managing director, sums
up the hunt so far: ”20-30
companies have prospecting permits, four exploitation concessions have been
granted, and one mine
is already in operation the Nalunaq gold mine in
Kirkespirdalen. Five to ten
new mines will be opened
in the coming five to ten
years, and there will be
more in the years to come.”
Right now, many international operators are
undertaking profitability studies, which includes
an assessment of the effects on both the environment and society, together with commercial considerations of the economic potential of mine establishment, where the main
rule for healthy profitability is a return of more than
20%. ”Profitability studies
are long and complex affairs, and the results must
be submitted to the Bureau
of Minerals and Petroleum
for assessment before any
exploitation permit can be
issued,” says Ole.
Right now, NunaMinerals is involved in 19 concessions, with potential uses
divided between precious
metals, base metals, rare
earths and other metals.
Gold is NunaMinerals’ core
area, but a growing share of
its activities is also accounted for by prospecting for
base metals, such as nickel
and copper, and other metals, such as the strategically important rare earths
(REE) and tungsten.
A changing market
The world market for metals is undergoing a process
of change at the current
time. The so-called ’BRIC’
countries, Brazil, Russia,
India and China, are developing rapidly, with soaring
consumption of raw materials. And while the London
Metal Exchange used to be
almost totally dominating
in the international metal
trade, there are now several
other linchpins affecting
supply and demand.
”China, for example, is
now not just a major player in mining, but also in
processing raw materials. In just a few years, the
country has gone from being a net exporter to a net
importer of minerals,” says
Ole. ”This creates a new
global competition for resources, in which Greenland is on its way to becoming a major new supplier,
which is of interest to the
EU and the USA, amongst
others.”
Rare earth elements
Top of the EU’s list of essential raw materials to
ensure growth and development are rare earth elements, of which China is
GREENLAND
Qullilerfik 2, 6. sal. 3900 Nuuk • Tel. (+299) 32 13 70 • [email protected] • www.nuna-law.gl
Kalaallit Forsikring Agentur A/S
today virtually the only
producer, while also being a major consumer of its
own resources. Secure and
future-proofed access to
these elements is therefore
of strategic global importance - and there are large
deposits in Greenland. Ole
Christiansen predicts that
the extraction of REE will
become an important area
over the next 5-10 years.
”For the EU, platinum
and tungsten are for example high-priority raw materials, in addition to the rare
earth elements, and for all
these minerals there are
prospecting projects underway in Greenland,” says
Ole, indicating that there
may be a ten-year investment horizon from project
start to the beginning of
extraction. ”Several rare
earth element projects are
well advanced in their profitability studies, and these
may soon be approved for
mining.”
Facilitator
NunaMinerals’ largest shareholder is the Government
of Greenland, and as well as
(If Insurance Agency Greenland)
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in
• Industrial,Commercialandprivate
insurancesolutionsofallkind.
• GreatexperienceinGreenland
• ExperiencewiththeMineralSector
• Languages:Danish,English,
GreenlandicandGerman.
The many mining
operators in Greenland
offer prospects for the
opening of 5-10 new
mines within the next
5-10 years. The EU and
the USA are among
those who see Greenland as an interesting
new major supplier.
operating on commercial
terms, the company also
functions as a facilitator to
ensure that momentum
is maintained for Greenlandic society through
increased
international
investment in mineral
projects. ”We have an interest in promoting the development of new projects that
can lead to mining operations.
The foreign companies
must act as the locomotive
to drive the industrialisa-
tion of the country, and although we are happy to enter into operation ownerships of up to 40%, or royalty agreements, this is not a
prerequisite for the growth
of society through our
work,” Ole concludes.
KalaallitForsikringAgenturA/Sisa
privateownedinsuranceagencycompany.WeoperateinGreenlandincontractwithIfInsurance,theleadingP&C
insurancecompanyintheNordicand
theBalticcountries.
KalaallitForsikring,isawellknown
brandinGreenlandandtogetherwith
IfInsurancewehavebeenoperating
inGreenlandformorethan100years
andthereforehasgreatexperience
withGreenlandicculture,infrastructure,geographyandnature.
OurheadofficeisplacedinNuuk–the
capitalcityofGreenland–butweare
alsorepresentedwithofficesinSisimiut,IlulissatandQaqortoq.
Weadviseinanddistributeallkinds
ofinsurancesolutionstotheprivate,
commercial,industrialsegment.
KalaallitForsikringAgenturA/S
SipisaqAvannaleq1,Postboks1071
3900Nuuk
Tel:+299701243
Fax:+299324240
E-mail:[email protected]
www.forsikring.gl
Henrik Sørensen
CEO
Cell:+299557446
Michael Linfos
SalesManager
Cell:+299552232
GREENLAND
9
8
The supply industry
must provide jobs, and
thereby development
Permagreen
International investment in mineral extraction represents a
great opportunity for Greenlandic companies to develop through
collaboration with foreign companies
Most of Greenland’s business life has up until now
been characterised by operations in relatively small
and local markets. This is
partly because the nascent
industrialisation is of recent date, and partly due to
the infrastructure of towns
scattered along the vast
coastline. But this situation
is now changing. The many
new projects in the oil and
mining industry have created the expectation of
new opportunities for businesses as subcontractors to
large mining and construction operations.
For the Employers’ Association of Greenland,
the objective is clear. “We
must ensure that Greenlandic companies – and
thereby society as a whole
– can obtain as large a
share of the new revenue
as possible, and we are actively working to influence the framework conditions so that this can happen,” says Henrik Leth, director of the Employers’
Association. “One of our
most important tasks is
to publicise the potential
and skills of the Greenland
business community. We
do this partly by participating in relevant trade
fairs and conferences
around the world, where
we can establish networks and partnerships between Greenlandic and foreign companies, but we also put a lot of
effort into providing training courses and conferences in Greenland, where the
goal is to prepare the country’s business community
for the coming demands.”
”Many foreign companies will be setting up in
There are great expectations towards the future,
but at the same time, preparations must be carefully
carried out. This is a sensible attitude which allows
us to approach the tasks
with humility, while at the
same time being aware of
the strength conferred by
in-depth local knowledge,
cultural familiarity and
experience with the local
nature and climate.”
Skills enhancement are
part of the preparations
“Many new companies will
come and establish themselves in Greenland.
We must be prepared to
receive and integrate these,
with a view to local partnerships and employment,”
says Henrik Leth, director of
the Employers’ Association
of Greenland.
Greenland in the years
ahead. As a society, we
must ensure that we have a
reception apparatus ready,
so that these companies
can be integrated as rapidly and as well as possible.
This is the prerequisite
for the co-operation that
will make it possible for
local companies and their
employees to become part
of the development, which
is of course essential,” continues Henrik Leth, who
emphasises that the more
than 500 member companies in the Employers’ Association of Greenland are
prepared to demonstrate
flexibility. “We can see
that our members in the
various sectors take the
challenges very seriously.
The Greenland Mineral
Resources Act specifies
that Greenlandic companies must be employed as
suppliers, if they are otherwise commercially and
technically competitive. A
number of concrete initiatives have therefore been
undertaken in the area of
skills enhancement. Like
the Employers’ Association
of Greenland, the Ministry for Industry, Agriculture and the Labour Market is engaged in preparing frameworks and training courses to match the
new business structure.
“The anticipated development in the oil and mining industries is being supported with massive public
sector efforts in the area
of education and training,
partly through courses offered by the country’s trade
schools,” says Ove Karl Berthelsen, Minister for Industry and Mineral Resources.
“These courses are aimed
particularly at work in the
mining industry. A course
has for example been
planned for the Mining &
Construction School in Sisimiut, which from the autumn of 2011 will be offer-
ing a special training programme in mining as an
actual career choice after
completing secondary education.”
Misilittakkanit siunissamullu sanaaneq
Building on experience and for the future
■
■
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■
■
Preben
Kold Larsen
Foto:
Ulrik Bang/BANG.GL
GREENLAND
Residential- and public sector buildings
Commercial Units
Roads, Runways and Quays
Sewer pipes and systems
Quarries
A chance for knowledge
and change
“The international mining operators are coming
to Greenland with international experience and new
knowledge, and they will
be very welcome,” Henrik
continues. “This knowledge is something that we
can learn from as a society.
But the companies are also
bringing methods and requirements that we must
live up to. Greenland must
in other words adapt to the
world market, and we are
willing to do that. It’s a different way of doing business, but on the other hand
it opens up a great store of
potential knowledge.”
For Henrik Leth and
the Employers’ Association of Greenland, it is a
question of the population
of Greenland being partners rather than spectators in the development:
“Our whole society is being given a marvellous opportunity, which we must
make use of to the benefit
of the whole country. It is
important that the public
and private sectors jointly grab this chance to give
Greenland’s business life
a boost. Internationally,
there are many examples
of how such co-operation
has produced good results.
Norway and Canada, for
example, have managed to
handle an industrial transition to mineral extraction, and we in Greenland
can naturally handle the
task, too.”
Permagreen Grønland A/S is among the leading construction companies in Greenland. We consist of about
200 experienced employees and have offices in five cities along the west coast, based in Greenland’s capital
Nuuk. Our 60 years in Greenland has given us a wide network and good relations with the Greenlandic municipalities and the Government of Greenland.Our core competence is major projects - from residential buildings
to all types of industrial buildings and associated works. We are wide-ranging and build throughout Greenland.
www.permagreen.gl
We make things possible in Greenland
Liaison
Administration
Staffing
Logistics
Catering
Site management
Incoming
Payroll & taxes
Drill planning
Accounting
Accomodation
Core logging
Geophysics
BMP reporting
Storage
Translations
Procurement
HSE
On call 24/7
Remote sensing
Visa & work permits
Situated in the capital Nuuk, with a strong network of local contractors
reaching all towns and settlements in Greenland and a proven track record,
XS is your natural choice as a local partner.
[email protected]
Mobile: +299 55 57 33
www.xplorationservices.com
Xploration Services
Greenland
GREENLAND
11
10
GREENLAND
Cairn Energy drilled test wells off
Disko in the summer of 2010. Oil,
gas and land-based workplaces
were the immediate result.
Throughout 2010 there was great activity in the operations of the oil and mineral companies,
and construction in Nuuk contributed to positive growth.
The economic
climate 2010
reenlandic companies are generally sound businesses with a
G
desire for innovation and faith in the future. Training and mobility
may be crucial factors in their degree of success
Spotting the
opportunities
in Greenland
Let us assist you with your
mining project
With more than 50 years' experience
from working in arctic conditions and
in faraway locations, MT Højgaard
offers assistance and guidance on
practically all aspects of mining projects in Greenland.
When you choose us as your collaboration partner we focus on the entire
process of your project. Right from the
first field investigations and feasibility
Read more on mth.com/mining
studies to the construction of infrastructure and operation of the completed mine. In this way, we ensure the
best result for your project.
No matter the extent of your project or
how far it has progressed, we can contribute with knowledge and experience
and help you to see the opportunities
for your mining project.
The last few years of restraint in Western economies have had an impact
on Greenland, but the prospect of potentially massive
investments in the mineral industry, together with
the secondary effects of
this, offers growth potential of unprecedented dimensions.
Henrik Thomasen is
Project Manager with
the consulting company
NIRAS, and has been monitoring the Greenlandic
economy for the past ten
years. “In 2010, it looks like
we will end up with a modest but positive growth in
the economy. The main reasons for this include the activities of the oil and mineral companies, but the extensive construction work
in Nuuk has also had an effect.”
A bright future
Investments by the international oil and mineral
companies could have important consequences for
Greenland’s economy in
the coming years, but Henrik Thomasen also identifies prospects in other
parts of the economy: “The
existing private and public
sectors in Greenland are
also significant employers, securing frameworks,
foundations and development. The public sector,
ing knock-on effect on the
supply industry, transport,
hotels, etc. - and that is not
counting capital investment in infrastructure,
such as harbours and airports,” Henrik adds.
The key to success
Henrik Thomasen, project
consultant with Niras.
for example, is characterised by economic stability
and is independent of economic trends. In the private sector there is potential for the development
of tourism in such areas as
business tourism and the
cruise ship market. These
are niches which could be
of particular local importance.”
The mineral industry
may also come to play a
major role in the future.
“In addition to major investments in extraction
as such, the industry’s activities will have an ongo-
The potential is great in
Greenland, and the goal
for society is to gain as
much as possible from any
mining industry adventure. Henrik Thomasen
suggests some of the factors which may help to determine success: “Companies may very soon need
to work at a volume and at
levels that will make great
demands on their mobility
and skills. If, for example,
the proposed aluminium
smelter in Maniitsoq is realised, this will mean more
than 1,000 new jobs during the operational phase,
which in Denmark would
be like creating 100,000
jobs at once.
In purely physical terms
this requires manpower,
and the appropriate training and language skills will
be in demand in many positions. Society should therefore concentrate on that, together with promoting mobility, and on economic policies which will increase
the role of the private sector in the economy,” he concludes.
Oil and gas in
the first test well
The eyes of the world are on Greenland’s unexplored areas of
oil and gas resources. In its very first test bore, the Scottish
company Cairn Energy found a working hydrocarbon system
At the present time, the
waters around Greenland
are being carved up into licensed areas for oil and gas
prospecting. International
companies such as Husky,
Chevron and ExxonMobil
have obtained permits, and
in eight of these fields the
Scottish company Cairn
Energy is in the process
of data collection and test
drilling, which may provide clues to the subterranean potential.
Greenland is interesting to the company in several ways. “The expectation of finding some of the
world’s largest untapped
deposits naturally promises well, but in a partnership, the fact that Greenland has a friendly eco-
nomic environment with
accommodating and cooperatively minded politicians and businesses is also
important,” says Simon
Thomson, Legal & Commercial Director of Cairn
Energy.
Control of
expectations is central
When announcements of
oil and gas discoveries are
made public, the expectations of the public rise towards commercial exploitation, but the two things
are not necessarily connected.
“We spent 2008-2009
gathering and analysing
data, before the test wells
this year provided us with
evidence of a working hy-
drocarbon system. These
wells then gave us new data
which we must now submit
to rigorous analysis to evaluate their potential,” says
Simon Thomson, who estimates that a horizon of 7-10
years might be the fastest
scenario for production.
The analytical work in
relation to oil and gas prospecting is not as visible
as the wells, but it is a prerequisite for achieving results. Seismic, sea bottom
and environmental conditions are among the factors
now being studied, and
with the test wells comes
new knowledge to be analysed before any oil can be
retrieved.
Greemlamd Petroleum Services
GPS facilitates through GPS Provides
-Bridging & matchmaking
platform members
-Tax & payroll services
-Visa & work permits
-Staffing, training & education
-Catering & housekeeping
-Bunkering & stevedoring
-Forging, welding & mechanics
-Sand blasting & painting
Frederikshåb Betoncentral ApS
Greenland National Contractors ApS
Grønlands VVS ApS
Larsen & Co. A/S
Nørskov Gruppen ApS
Xploration Services ApS
-Administration & advisory services
-Office facilities & warehousing
-Lay down areas
-Incoming, accommodation &
logistics
-Freight, handling, forwarding &
customs clearing
Greenland Petroleum Services A/S
H.J. Rinksvej 11, Postbox 456
3900 Nuuk - Greenland
tel.: +299 329933 / mobil.: +299 555733
[email protected]
GREENLAND
12
We were founded in 1967.
We are traded at OMX Copenhagen Stock Exchange.
We are present in five major Greenlandic cities.
Doing business in Greenland ?
The BANK of Greenland is the largest and oldest bank in Greenland. Our strong financial performances go
years back. We have years of experience and great expertise in servicing Greenland’s industry and commerce.
We offer highly competent financial advice – in our home-language as well as English. We have our ears on
the ground in Greenland’s business life – no matter geography or sector.
The BANK of Greenland
Tlf. +299 70 1234
www.banken.gl
We have up front knowledge of the new business opportunities, including the industries of mining and raw
materials.
We strive towards fast service and flexible solutions – at competitive prices.
Therefore, we are sure that we can help you in almost any banking matter, if you are interested in doing business
in Greenland…
Call or write us for a non-committal talk.
Hydropower
from the
inland ice
Greenland’s hydropower
already accounts for
more than half of the
country’s energy production − a figure that is
expected to rise to 80%
in coming years.
Highlights 2010:
• Qeqertaasaq REE project
• Surface trench samples up to 13% TREO
• Tikiusaaq REE project
• Surface grab samples up to 10% TREO
reenland’s high-altitude glacial lakes give the country an opportunity to exploit
G
this water to provide a large part of its energy production. At the same time,
hydrogen technology and geothermal heat sources are also being tested
Initial investigations into
the potential for exploiting
Greenland’s hydropower
resources began in 1970.
The first plant was opened
in 1993, and now approximately 60% of Greenland’s
energy production is derived from this climatefriendly energy source.
Growth at the present time
is particularly rapid. “In
2006 our energy self-supply
rate was 40%, and in 2013 it
will be 70%. The figure represents green energy produced in Greenland,” says
Svend Hardenberg, energy
manager with the national energy supply company,
Nukissiorfiit.
The company has made
considerable investments
in hydropower facilities,
which usually have a payback period of 14 to 15 years,
after which time the energy
they produce is very cheap
compared with fossil fuels,
the use of which Greenland
aims to reduce as far as possible.
However, although the
supply of water is practically unlimited in relation to
the needs of the 56,000 inhabitants, the distribution
of the population across
17 towns and 54 villages
means that careful planning is required. “We do
not have a national energy
grid, so for supply security reasons, we operate with
double capacity. Water resources are on average located 50 km from the towns,
and due to the considerable
investments required, it is
population density that decides whether deployment
is justified, “says Hardenberg, who suggests that the
economically sensible limit
for the roll-out of hydropower is around 80%.
Besides supplying electricity, water and heating,
Nukissiorfiit also provides
advice to the major mineral industry projects, such
as the aluminium smelting plant in Maniitsoq,
which will be very energyintensive. “I take part in the
project development work,
but the actual financing
and management of the energy plants is all part of the
project,” Hardenberg remarks.
Energy of the future
The fact that Greenland enjoys a relatively high rate
of self-supply in green energy compared to other
countries has not caused
Nukissiorfiit to cease experimenting with other
green energy technolo-
Sincerely,
The Business Department
gies. The company has several test facilities in operation at its headquarters in
Nuuk. “Next spring we will
be starting up a hydrogen
plant to test its energy storage potential, which could
be useful for Greenland,
in order to save an energy
surplus in summer for the
higher consumption in
winter,” says Hardenberg.
Geothermal heating is
also being tested. “We’ve
drilled 200 metres down
into the mountains with
heat pumps to exploit the
temperature difference between the air and the rock.
The results look promising,
and the effect can be further enhanced by using solar panels to heat water,
which can raise the temperature of the mountain rock
before the winter,” Hardenberg concludes.
Exploring the mineral potential
of Greenland
• Nanortalik Gold Province
• Shear hosted gold related to granitic intrusions
• Surface grab samples up to 1 kg/t Au
• Thule Iron & IOCG Province
• 14 Cu-Au targets located by geophysics
• Clusters of Cu-Au-Fe geochemical anomalies
• Nuuk Gold Province
• Partner funding for drilling
• Best intersection 28.7 m @ 6.7 g/t Au
Other attractive prospects:
• Amikoq PGE prospect
• Octopus Reef Pt+Pd
• Rhodium Zone Rh+Pt+Pd
• Ullu Diamond Project
• Considerable quantities of kimbertitic float
located within a small area next to a lake
• 7 pipe targets located by magnetic surveys
• Previous worker located a macle diamond from
a kimberlitic float from the area
Photo from: Tikiusaaq REE project. One of the worlds few large carbonatite complexes.
NunaMinerals A/S
• Ymer Tungsten & Gold Project
• High grade scheelite and stibnite mineralisation
• 40 m @ 0.8 g/t Au, high tonnage potential
• Float samples contain up to 7 g/t Au
Issortarfimmut 1 · P.O.Box 790 · DK-3900 Nuuk · Greenland · Phone: +299 36 20 00 · Fax: +299 36 20 10 · E-mail: [email protected] · www.nunaminerals.com
GREENLAND
15
14
GREENLAND
3G and All IP
in 2014
With 3G mobile networks, IP telephony and European Internet
speeds, the roll-out of modern communication systems in Greenland is
right at the cutting edge, to the benefit of both citizens and businesses
Well-functioning communications are essential for
development in a professional knowledge society,
and Greenland’s sprawling
geography and scattered
settlements impose special
demands on the technology and services on offer
here.
The responsibility lies
with Tele Greenland, which
in recent years has expanded
its telecommunications infrastructure, so that Greenland is now linked to both
Europe and North America via fibre optic cables, the
capacity of which is expected to be sufficient for many
years to come. Internally in
Greenland, radio networks
provide European Internet
speeds from Nanortalik in
the south to Uummannaq
in the north.
“Our vision, as an essential ingredient for the development of business, is
to place Greenland at the
heart of the world, and today we enjoy the same communications possibilities
here as across the rest of
the globe,” says Brian Buus
Pedersen, managing director of Tele Greenland. “One
of our next goals is ‘All IP
in 2014’, in which we have
started a project to exploit
the cutting-edge service opportunities offered by IP
technology.”
Another project is a
“Today,
Greenland
enjoys the
same communications
possibilities as the
rest of the
world,” says
Brian Buus
Pedersen.
number concept, in which
customers can choose
whether to take their calls
on their cell phones, landlines or computers. Channel-independent technology is just one of the areas in
which Greenland is right up
to date in terms of technology and the possibilities it offers.
World record
in broadband
Tele Greenland delivers
broadband to all the towns
and villages of Greenland, which has one of the
world’s highest coverage
rates for broadband Internet. The important thing
about the coverage, accord-
ing to Pedersen, is that it
provides a basis for the implementation of concrete
citizen and business-oriented initiatives.
“We have been working with video conferencing since 1994, including
in telemedicine, and right
now we are taking part in
trials for the use of video
communication in teaching.
Video conferencing rooms have been established
in almost every town, so
that even companies without their own equipment
can communicate across
the length and breadth of
the country and the world.”
Mobile telephony is an-
Growing Into
the Future
ivil engineering works of a volume unseen
C
before follows the growth of the raw
material industry in Greenland.
This provides opportunities for
Greenlandic companies with
focus on facing new needs
and requirements
other area in which Greenland is right up with the
world’s front runners. 3G
networks have been rolled
out in Nuuk, and other
towns will follow in 2011,
allowing more people to
use the Internet on the
move.
“Towns and villages
with more than 70 inhabitants all have mobile coverage, and the GSM technology used goes beyond the
usual 30 km. This means
there is also coverage in
large parts of the coastal areas, where there is a great
deal of activity, as well as
the potential for new business development,” Pedersen concludes.
The future in Greenland offers a growing number of
comprehensive construction and operations jobs in
raw material research and
quarrying, and new competences and capacities
are required of companies
in Greenland. The international operators enter into
cooperation to cover their
needs, and the goal for local companies is to become
preferred partners and obtain the biggest possible
share of the jobs.
The building and contractor company EMJ Greenland A/S, with 140 employ-
ees, is one of the Greenlandic companies that is preparing for the new challenges. Nicolaj Sørensen,
General Manager of Atcon
Greenland A/S, points out
important preconditions of
success for local companies.
“Visibility is important. Being a well known player
who carries out challenging
work and delivers according
to agreement enhances the
knowledge about us as a relevant and respected partner”.
The Tough Strengths
Greenlandic
companies
have strengths that are
highly appreciated by international task providers.
Local knowledge of areas
that are difficult to access in
arctic climate is one of the
fields that can provide new
cooperation agreements.
“When the Black Angel-zinc mine in Northern
Greenland was to be reopened, 20-25 of our people
were in on the task, which
is a good example of local
knowhow,” says Nicolaj Sørensen. “After 35 km on
snow scooters we reached
an abandoned mining area
without water, heating and
electricity. The first night
was with heating blankets
in buildings with no doors
or windows, and that is
where the build-up began.”
For the Atcon manager
the example from the zinc
mine shows a fine picture
of the Greenlandic companies’ approach to the tasks.
“Experience,
flexibility
and a good mind characterize their way of working,
and these are good cards to
hold for the growth of the
coming years.”
Developing Competence
The business structure of
the future in Greenland
requires strong and competent units. Such a unit
was formed in the spring of
2009 when EMJ bought Atcon, which is now a subsidiary of EMJ, and the acquisition may act as inspiration
for other local companies
that want to strengthen
their capacity and competences to be equipped for
new challenges.
”Through this acquisition we have reached a
size that provides us with
room to not reject comprehensive jobs. Our employees provide us with volume
and together form a broad
According to Nikolaj Sørensen, the way of working
of Greenlandic companies
is characterised by experience, flexibility and a ‘cando’ attitude.
competence profile, which
we are careful all the time
to improve with further
qualifications” says Nicolaj Sørensen, who finally
points at being thorough
at looking into the customers’ needs as the key to attracting and offering the
right skills.
Your strongest partner in
support and logistics for
oil and gas exploration
in Greenland
A full-range supply of support and service for international companies
dealing with the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in Greenland
· Alltypesoftransportandlogisticssolutions
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