Oil on ice

Posted Jul 24th 2008 10:18AM by Douglas McIntyre
Filed under: Law, Russia, Oil

It makes sense that if there are still large pools of undiscovered oil. Some of them would be under one or both polar ice caps. It turns out the Arctic is a great place to drill for crude.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "The Arctic contains just over a fifth of the world's undiscovered, recoverable oil and natural-gas resources, according to a review released Wednesday, confirming its potential as the final frontier for energy exploration."

The data from the study raises two questions. The first is who owns the rights? Russia claims some of them. So does Denmark. The U.S. is even making come claims for part of the territory.

The other issue is the standard environmental one. Will drilling in the Arctic endanger any wildlife, create oil spills, or disrupt the ice cap? Since the ice is melting due to global warming, that concern may not last for long.

As oil prices rise, it becomes more evident with each passing month there are deposits of oil off-shore, in protected lands, and in regions that could not be reached before because the technology did not exist.

Unfortunately, getting at the oil could involve years of legal battles. By then maybe the T. Boone Pickens windmill farms will be delivering vast quantities of energy and it won't matter.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Tags: arctic, denmark, ice caps, IceCaps, inthenews, oil, pickens, reserves

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

7-24-2008 @ 2:30PM

Real Truth said...

It is this kind of shallow reporting that misinforms so many. If the estimate of recoverable crude in the Arctic were true...none could be produced before 2018 and full extraction would be spread over a 20 year reservoir life.

So let's make that 4.5 billion per year recovered from 2018-2039. That's 4,500 million barrels per year, or 12.3 million barrels per day, compared to the world's today (not 2018) usage of 85 million barrels per day. Five percent.

7-24-2008 @ 2:59PM

Lee Walther said...

Real Truth..... not only that but current oil drilled in Alaska is sold to Asia... so what the f...k, over?

7-24-2008 @ 3:18PM

Escalonz said...

Will drilling in the Arctic endanger any wildlife, create oil spills, or disrupt the ice cap?
__________________________
Are these concerns viable when the survival of our economic lives are at stake. Whether we like it or not oil is the life blood of the world economy as well as ours and until a replacement is found should remain "the" top priority. To continue to restrict off shore drilling is as asinine as one can get.........

7-24-2008 @ 7:14PM

ALYDAR said...

BETTER START FOCUSING ON THE HUMAN RACE THERE IS PLENTY OF ROOM FOR ANIMALS ALASKA,FOR EXAMPLE, IS 365MILLION ACRES

7-24-2008 @ 11:01PM

johnclrdsprn said...

First let's drill for a grain of common sense and logic in that vast wasteland between Nanci Pelosi's ear's! She is definitely on the side of The Enviro lobby, not the welfare of the American people!