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Arctic map flags up territorial disputes over oil
London (AFP) Aug 6, 2008 British researchers have drawn up the first detailed map of areas in the Arctic that could spark border disputes over extensive oil and gas deposits, they said Wednesday. Experts from the International Boundaries Research Unit (IBRU) at Durham University in northeast England produced the map to illustrate current boundaries and possible future claims. Russia last year staked its disputed claim to a huge chunk of the frozen land when a submarine planted a flag on the ocean floor underneath the North Pole. Canada, the United States, Denmark, Iceland and Norway are also all embroiled in territorial disputes. Martin Pratt, director of research at IBRU, said: "We have attempted to show all known claims -- agreed boundaries and one thing that has not appeared on any other maps, which is the number of areas that could be claimed by Canada, Denmark and the US." The team used special software to construct the boundaries. He said a new survey by the US Geological Survey estimates that a fifth of the world's undiscovered, recoverable resources lie within the Arctic Circle. "We are talking 90 million barrels of oil, nearly 17 hundred trillion cubic feet," Pratt said. "I suppose for any state, control over hydrocarbons is significant as other resources dwindle." Russia in particular is attracted by the Arctic region's potential for oil and gas extraction because it already has a well-developed gas infrastructure, Pratt said. Global warming is also aiding the search for oil and gas, as areas of the Arctic which were once permanently frozen now melt in the warmer months, allowing scientists access. "The other factor is the melting of the polar ice and that is making it easier to explore the area which is why the oil and gas industry is looking at it," he said. "It is now becoming a potential area of development rather than a hypothetical one." That in turn is raising concerns about the potential destruction of the "unique environment" in the Arctic. "It is vulnerable and extracting oil and gas is not an environmentally friendly activity," Pratt said. Russia first made a submission to the UN about the area in 2001 and a Russian lawmaker has said Moscow will make a fresh claim next year. Pratt said the Russian submarine was in the Arctic last year to gather more evidence to back up the claim. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Convention (UNCLOS) stipulates that any coastal state can claim territory 200 nautical miles from their shoreline and exploit the natural resources within that zone. But some coastal states can claim rights that extend beyond their shoreline because they have a continental shelf, the part of their landmass that extends into the sea. Russia claims its continental shelf extends along a mountain chain running underneath the Arctic, known as the Lomonosov Ridge. The map can be downloaded from http://www.dur.ac.uk/ibru/resources/arctic/. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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World oil prices fall
Singapore (AFP) Aug 5, 2008World oil prices fell in Asian trade Tuesday as fears about slowing US demand offset worries about tension over oil-rich Iran's controversial nuclear programme, dealers said. |
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