Eric Watkins
Oil Diplomacy Editor
There may be one or two members of the oil and gas industry who remember the 1968 action film, Ice Station Zebra, starring Rock Hudson and Ernest Borgnine, among others, which was loosely based on the 1963 novel of the same name.
Well, it looks like a new version may come out soon.
That's because Moscow last week dispatched the nuclear-powered Rossiya icebreaker to join research vessel Academician Fyodorov to determine the boundaries of the Russian continental shelf in the Arctic.
"The Rossiya icebreaker will accompany the research ship during the entire length of the expedition to ensure the consistency of the vessel's speed, which is crucial for precise measurements," said a spokeswoman for nuclear fleet company Rosatomflot.
The Russians have their eye on a 1982 convention that gives nations bordering the region the right to extend their arctic claims if they can prove their continental shelf extends beyond a 200-mile limit.
The Lomonosov Ridge
Moscow's 2-month investigation by the Rossiya and the Academician Fyodorov has been undertaken to do exactly that.
The Russians have long said they will spend millions of dollars and more on studies to prove that the Lomonosov Ridge, said to be rich in oil, natural gas, and mineral deposits, is part of their own Eurasian landmass.
Canada and Denmark reject the Russians' claim, each saying that the Lomonosov Ridge, which stretches across the Arctic Sea, is actually a geographical extension of their own territory.
The Russians aren't waiting around for science, though, as they announced plans to file a formal application to the United Nations next year in the hope of redrawing the map of the Arctic to include the Lomonosov Ridge.
It's not the first time that the Russians have submitted an application to the UN to claim the Lomonosov Ridge. The last time was in 2001, but their document was returned with a request to provide more proof for their claim.
Application by 2014
Undaunted, Russia's Prime Minister Vladimir Putin last month said his country would finish its mapping of its Arctic shelf by 2013 and submit its application to the UN on its claim to the Lomonosov Ridge by 2014.
"I hope that next year we will present a formal, scientifically grounded application to the commission of the UN," Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov told a government maritime board.
Canada will submit its application on the territory in 2013, while Denmark can be expected to follow suit any day now. There's a lot at stake, too.
According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic seabed is believed to hold 90 billion bbl, or 13% of the world's undiscovered oil reserves and 30% of its undiscovered natural gas resources.
Ice Station Zebra? Coming soon to a theater near you.
The new Cold War.
More Oil & Gas Journal Current Issue Articles
More Oil & Gas Journal Archives Issue Articles
View Oil and Gas Articles on PennEnergy.com