Oil race at top of the world

[n2doc]

This is what's called a "positive feedback", something that adds to a trend or force. In this case melting ice makes it possible to extract more oil, leading to more CO2 and even faster melting....

Oil race at top of the world
As Russia pursues claim to huge Arctic reserves, U.S. is sidelined

By Alex Rodriguez
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published June 10, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia -- A new Klondike may be waiting at the top of the world, where geologists believe a quarter of the globe's undiscovered oil and natural gas lies trapped within the rock strata underneath the ice-encased Arctic Ocean.

It's a trove of energy wealth that sits unowned and unexplored, a bonanza being readied for a rush of claims thanks to climate change. Global warming is steadily wearing away the polar cap, scientists say, making the advent of Arctic energy exploration increasingly likely.

Inside a dingy, four-story building in the heart of St. Petersburg, a team of scientists is working feverishly to prove that a large chunk of that energy is rightfully Russia's.

If geologists at the Russian Research Institute for Ocean Geology and Mineral Resources are right, the Kremlin could add as many as 10 billion tons of Arctic oil and natural gas to reserves that already make Russia one of the world's most formidable energy powerhouses.

The Arctic's potential storehouse of oil and gas likely won't be tapped for decades. But Moscow is looking ahead to a time when depleted oil and natural gas fields will force energy suppliers to scour for new hydrocarbon sources, even if they're under the polar ice cap.

"Experts say that after 2016, oil production will drop tremendously," said Anatoly Opekunov, the institute's deputy director. "Every country, including Russia and the U.S., is thinking about this."

Russia's eagerness to secure the rights to Arctic energy worries many policymakers in Washington, who argue that the U.S. is powerless to intervene while it remains mired in a 13-year debate over ratification of a United Nations treaty governing international maritime rights.

more:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-arctic_bdjun10,1,1491587.story

[Strelnikov_]

1. And let me repeat . . .

"Experts say that after 2016, oil production will drop tremendously," said Anatoly Opekunov, the institute's deputy director. "Every country, including Russia and the U.S., is thinking about this."

More evidence of that 'inconvenient truth' that already has governments maneuvering for the final 'Great Game' (Russian nationalization/leveraging of energy 'weapon', US Middle-East petro grab, Chinese purchase of long term supply contracts, etc.).

Yet EIA, USGS, IEA continue to paint a cornucopian future . . .

On edit:

Was not going to say it, but what the fuck.

The money shot in this article for me was another example of the blowback the oligarchs are suffering due to their allegiance with the fundy/nativist base.

In a statement released last month by the American Conservative Union, the lobbying group said its 1 million "members and supporters across America will be happy to remind this president and this treaty's advocates on Capitol Hill that conservatives will not stand for this or any concession of American sovereignty."

Moore calls that logic "upside down." He argues that ratification achieves the opposite of concession: It sets the stage for the U.S. to expand its jurisdiction over ocean resources. "There's nothing in the treaty that removes sovereignty," he said. "To the contrary, it creates a greater extension of resource rights into the ocean. ... We're talking about a massive increase in U.S. resource jurisdiction.


Just like the immigration bill and stem cell research, to name a couple off the top of my head.

[Delphinus]

2. It's obvious some Republicans KNOW

climate change is an issue:
"Russia has, under the terms of the treaty, laid claim to stretches of the Arctic Ocean, hoping to lock up potential oil and gas reserves which could become more accessible as climate change shrinks the polar ice cap," said Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) in a statement last month. "Unless the U.S. ratifies the treaty, Moscow will be able to press its claims without an American at the table."

Here's another snip:
Environmentalists, who have opposed oil exploration in Arctic regions, see the prospect of a future oil rush as a twisted result of governmental failure to address climate change.

"Global warming and the catastrophes it causes should be our priority," said Irina Rudaya, a researcher at Bellona, a Norwegian environmental watchdog. "It's high time we start thinking about the environmental consequences of our actions, and about relying on alternative fuel sources.

It's not just Russia - if we had a way to get in there, we would, and what happens to the world (and its people) be damned.

[Nihil]

3. As has been pointed out many times, BushCo know very well ...

... they simply don't care.

They want their dollars today and f*ck the world tomorrow.

[GliderGuider]

4. A quarter of the world's undiscovered oil? Wow, that sure sounds like a lot!

Until someone comes along and tells you that the current estimate is that 95% of all the world's oil resources have already been discovered. That means that a quarter of that remaining 5% might be in the Arctic. A whole 1.25%, or maybe another year's worth of oil - just the sort of bonanza we should destroy the Arctic looking for. Of all mankind's failings, innumeracy is the worst.

Fasten your seatbelts, folks, the next two decades are going to be "very interesting".