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.

  • eran_morad@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    Yeah, fuck it, ima go ahead and just say it:

    The US should lead a vast effort by the West (broadly construed to include allies like Australia, Japan, etc.) to deploy all covert means and significant overt means, short of a shooting war, to destabilize and ultimately destroy the russian state.

    Fuck russia. A million times over, then once more, for good measure, fuck russia.

    Macron, Scholz: it is going to be on you to lead if the most fucktarded of my compatriots succeed in their “real men wear diapers” campaign. FFS.

    russia is a cancer on the entire world.

    • Grimy@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      I’m not saying it’s a bad move, but that won’t stop drilling.

      The effort should be aimed at destroying the oil industry.

    • aname@lemmy.one
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      6 months ago

      deploy all covert means and significant overt means, short of a shooting war, to destabilize and ultimately destroy the russian state.

      While they kind of maybe wanted that, they fear all the nukes getting to worse hands than they already are right now. At least Putin is sane enough to not use them, but more extreme leader might.

      • Bernie_Sandals@lemmy.world
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        6 months ago

        That feeling when you’re so brain fucked by the cold war actions of the U.S that the Authoritarian reactionary hellscape is good apparently.

        • Beetschnapps@lemmy.world
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          6 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_@lemmy.world
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            6 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@lemmy.world
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              6 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@lemmy.world
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                6 months ago

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

  • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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    6 months ago

    Tally ho, time for the RN to sail to the Falklands Antarctica!

    • grue@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      You pretty much had it right the first time. The Falklands would likely be used as a staging area, being the closest British or allied territory to the part of Antarctica in question.

      • cygnus@lemmy.ca
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        6 months ago

        True, although with Milei being as unpredictable as he is, maybe he’d offer a port for this venture.