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Russia discovers worlds largest oil field in Antarctica


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Posted

Well, it's over 

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Posted
3 hours ago, May said:

oil is so confusing to me bc like … who tf decided it was so valuable and why ? :deadbanana: it's literally just a liquid …. 

is this comment real?

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Posted

I wouldn't expect much to come of this for at least a few decades unless there's some rapid technological shift. For one, it's really not easily extractable at all, and it doesn't make much sense for companies or countries to sink hundreds of billions (if not trillions) of dollars into oil plays when there are still vast reserves within much easier reach. There are no permanent roads or ports or airstrips or pipelines of any kind to make getting workers to/from the drilling sites (let alone getting the oil from those sites) possible, and that will be a monumental up-front investment that no one will want to make unless they have no other choice, let alone the extreme pushback that any country or company would get if they tried to exploit these reserves given the current legal status of Antarctica. Once the pre-existing reserves dwindle, that conversation might change, but that's several decades away at this current pace, and will probably be much longer as we switch to EVs and substitute oil components in the manufacturing supply chain. Much of these reserves seem to be under-sea, and, to the best of my knowledge there are no off-shore drilling sites that aren't within a short helicopter ride of a large population settlement for supply, staffing, and emergency reasons. The nearest population center to these sites is... Ushuaia, at 2900km away. Even if the Russians literally make the Tierra del Fuego province their next oblast, that's insurmountable with today's technology. 

 

As for the Russian's being involved, that's also not especially likely. It may be their discovery and they may currently be operating the bulk of the world's polar oil fields, but they did very little work in developing the sites in Siberia and Sakhalin (ironically it was BP and Shell who did a lot of the technical work there), and they do not have the naval capacity to manage or protect a site on the opposite side of the world. Even if they do develop the technical skill (which, given the state of Russian higher education, isn't likely), until the war in Ukraine (and any knock-on conflicts) are finished, they won't have a spare few hundred billion dollars laying around to put toward this when they already have substantial reserves much closer to home. If this ever does get developed, it'll be by Exxon or BP or Shell or Total or Petrobras (or probably some combination thereof), and they all have better places to go to make more money faster for the time being. 

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Posted
29 minutes ago, getinthezone said:
3 hours ago, May said:

oil is so confusing to me bc like … who tf decided it was so valuable and why ? :deadbanana: it's literally just a liquid …. 

is this comment real?

Ummm yes sis, oil is a liquid :duck:

Posted
3 hours ago, Space Cowboy said:

The oil field was found in the british antarctica. The russians cannot simply go there and start drilling, right? The UK is a NATO member.

The Antarctic Treaty is supposed to make it so no one can "claim" territory in Antarctica, even though several countries do "claim" large portions of it.  However, if Russia was to go there and start drilling, the British (and NATO) would need to engage in a war with Russia to stop them...  which would be WWIII.  

 

There was a really great video on what might happen to Antarctica over the course of the next 100 years due to global warming, and as the continent melts, there will be a rush by existing world powers to exploit its vast natural resources that have not been accessible for millions of years.  The Antarctic Treaty will be altered or flat out ignored when there are trillions upon trillions of dollars worth of resources.

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Posted
7 minutes ago, Archetype said:

The Antarctic Treaty is supposed to make it so no one can "claim" territory in Antarctica, even though several countries do "claim" large portions of it.  However, if Russia was to go there and start drilling, the British (and NATO) would need to engage in a war with Russia to stop them...  which would be WWIII.  

 

There was a really great video on what might happen to Antarctica over the course of the next 100 years due to global warming, and as the continent melts, there will be a rush by existing world powers to exploit its vast natural resources that have not been accessible for millions of years.  The Antarctic Treaty will be altered or flat out ignored when there are trillions upon trillions of dollars worth of resources.

its really disgusting how large nations can just go and claim territory on places like antarctica...

Posted
2 hours ago, IBeMe said:

omg....

so either a full blown war over it will happen immenently or europe will capitulate to Russia to have access to some of that lucrative oil reserve and the US will have to sit to the side....

no way US would give it up

Posted

Oh I know the defense contractors are drooling at the thought of a war in Antarctica with no civilians in harms way

Posted
12 hours ago, Archetype said:

The Antarctic Treaty is supposed to make it so no one can "claim" territory in Antarctica, even though several countries do "claim" large portions of it.  However, if Russia was to go there and start drilling, the British (and NATO) would need to engage in a war with Russia to stop them...  which would be WWIII.  

 

There was a really great video on what might happen to Antarctica over the course of the next 100 years due to global warming, and as the continent melts, there will be a rush by existing world powers to exploit its vast natural resources that have not been accessible for millions of years.  The Antarctic Treaty will be altered or flat out ignored when there are trillions upon trillions of dollars worth of resources.

and what resources are those?

Posted

Polar Power coming soon

lorde25nov20.jpg

 

  • Haha 2
Posted

is antartica the one above us or the one by australia... kinda confused

Posted
6 minutes ago, TROPICUM said:

is antartica the one above us or the one by australia... kinda confused

mama let's research, let's google a world map

Posted
4 minutes ago, Pendulum said:

mama let's research, let's google a world map

i just remember antartica is the one with the big whales i think

Posted

Good. Finish melting off the ice caps and bring in worldwide catastrophe. 

Posted

It's the end of the world as we know it and I won't be fine

 

putin-vladimir-putin.gif 

Posted

People will transition away from oil so it will be useless 

 

Yes, this is me being an optimist about humanity 

 

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