Reserves 10 times the North Sea’s output raise fears over drilling in protected region

Russia has found vast oil and gas reserves in the Antarctic, much of it in areas claimed by the UK.

The surveys are a prelude to bringing in drilling rigs to exploit the pristine region for fossil fuels, MPs have warned.

Reserves totalling 511bn barrels of oil – about 10 times the North Sea’s entire 50-year output – have been reported to Moscow by Russian research ships, according to evidence given to the Commons Environment Audit Committee (EAC) last week.

It follows a series of surveys by the Alexander Karpinsky vessel, operated by Rosgeo – the Russian agency charged with finding mineral reserves for commercial exploitation.

Antarctica is meant to be protected by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty that bans all mineral or oil developments. The UK’s interests are overseen by the Foreign Office – but it has been accused of ignoring the emerging crisis.

  • @Bookmeat
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    747 months ago

    Why are people doing resource exploration in protected areas? >___>

        • @febra
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          7 months ago

          Lol yes they’ve been turbo capitalist for some time now

        • @Beetschnapps
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          7 months ago

          You have to understand “capitalist” in this case means “I’m in high school and someone looks greedy”.

          Like, there’s nuance and then there’s “everyone who is not an anarcho-socialist-utopian-solar-punk-revolutionary is a capitalist”.

          And I say this totally not defending capitalism, I’m just smart enough to see a difference between “fisher-price my first socialism” vs reality…

          Having a greedy oligarchy isn’t capitalism, it can be just as bad if not worse but the idea things being different is lost on these folks… if you are going to argue that Putin taking everything for himself is just Russia being “capitalist” then you are literally telling the world “I can see lots of trees, but no forest…”

          • tb_
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            127 months ago

            The Soviet Union was – claimed to be – communist. That is not the case for Russia.

            Much like China now has incorporated many capitalist systems.

            • @Beetschnapps
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              -47 months ago

              No shit. Doesn’t make them capitalists and it doesn’t make a mob boss the monopoly man. Regardless of “systems” I wouldn’t call China capitalist nor Russia and comparing them to or claiming them as such wouldn’t be accurate or even helpful really.

              It’s not helpful in assessing current context or motive. But yea let’s just call em all capitalist…

              • @zazo
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                06 months ago

                So a state and oligarchs amassing capital isn’t capitalism but monopolic corporations amassing capital is?

                • @Beetschnapps
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                  16 months ago

                  Makes you feel better? So changing groups totally makes it all okay?

                  • @zazo
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                    16 months ago

                    Mf that’s why I’m saying both are forms of capitalism - you’re the one claiming Russia isn’t a capitalist state…

            • Amoxtli
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              6 months ago

              No communist in America is a communist. They all want to be communist (wannabe communist, like wannabe badasses), but they are not. You are what you eat.

          • @Grimy
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            16 months ago

            deleted by creator

    • @RedditWanderer
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      87 months ago

      Yeah they should have never been allowed to search there in the first place.

    • @Num10ck
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      26 months ago

      what’s 500 billion times $78?