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.

In what is sure to be only the latest event in a long case of protracted legal wrangling, a San Francisco federal appeals court has ordered Royal Dutch Shell Plc's (NYSE: RDS.A) vessels to stop all operations in the Beaufort and Chuckchi Seas. Environmental groups and Eskimo villages are seeking greater research into the effect drilling will have on marine wildlife in the region, and the judge agreed to give them time.

Shell isn't too happy. The company claims to have spent $200 million on the project already, including extensive research on the effect drilling will have on the environment, and has also formulated a plan to deal with oil spills. Of course, it's easy to be skeptical of an oil company's studies on environmental impact.

The Department of the Interior has supported drilling but, given the recent scandals involving global warming and political pressure on scientists, the department is not as high on credibility as it once was.

Given the amount of time it will take for any oil from the region to be brought to market, and the relatively small amount that is thought to be feasible for drilling, this probably won't have a material impact on energy prices anytime soon.