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Ice Harvest

This month, Arctic sea ice has reached its lowest extent since satellites started tracking it in the 1970s.

This month, Arctic sea ice has reached its lowest extent since satellites started tracking it in the 1970s. While some experts estimate this is actually the lowest level in nearly 1,500 years, it is certainly 45% less than the average for the same month through the 1980s and 1990s. The only silver lining to this manifestation of global warming is that it?s opening up sources of offshore oil, gas, and minerals that have hitherto been secreted under permafrost for centuries. And it is no surprise that the Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell, among others, has made a beeline for these resources. The company had after all drilled 16 exploratory wells in the Arctic waters way back in the 1980s, before oil prices dropping below $10/barrel drove it back to less hostile terrains. But in the 21st century, the game changed: prices have advanced and ice retreated at an equally scorching pace. The US Geological Survey estimates that more than 90 billion barrels of oil and up to 1,700 trillion cubic feet of natural gas may be found in this area, representing 13% and 30% of the world?s estimated undiscovered reserves, respectively. So, Shell has spent the last seven years wading through environmental, regulatory and indigenous peoples? obstacles, and invested $4.5 billion, for the opportunity to get its Noble Discoverer drill ship to sink a bit around 113 km off the Alaska coast. It was finally celebration time on Sunday, with Shell itself hailing the moment as a historic new chapter for Alaska and the world?s oil and gas industry.

Unfortunately, by late Monday, approaching ice forced Shell to pull up its rig?s anchors! Nature had retreated but not been defeated. Noble Discoverer will not stay away forever, but nor will Monday?s ice be the last to force its retreat. The senior Arctic consultant of ExxonMobil, which has been exploring for gas off the coast of Russia, has warned that, ?It often takes multiple seasons, two to three, to do something you would normally do in a single season.?

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First published on: 13-09-2012 at 03:16 IST
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