Latest news with #Rosgeo
India.com
3 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Russia hits JACKPOT, set to become super rich due to..., bad news for many countries because...
Russia hits JACKPOT, set to become super rich due to..., bad news for many countries because... Largest Crude Oil Reserve: In a major discovery, Russia has discovered a massive oil reserve, which is expected to be the largest crude oil reserve in the history of the world. The country has found a black gold reserve under the British Antarctic region, which has long been protected under an international treaty. As per media reports, Moscow has discovered about 511 billion barrels of crude oil during its search and expedition. As Russia has discovered a huge oil reserve under the frozen continent, global powers may try to exploit the reserve which is hidden under the ice. How Did Russia Discover The Largest Crude Oil Reserve? The reports state that Russia's government geological company named – Rosgeo – carried out the search during which it found the oil reserve. During the search, the company surveyed the Weddell Sea region which tells that there is a possibility of 511 billion barrels of crude oil hidden under the ice. Notably, the reserve is more than the amount of oil that has been extracted from the earth so far. Did The Discovery Break Any Treaty? Under the Antarctic Treaty (1959), no military or commercial activity, especially exploitation of natural resources, can take place in the region. However, Russia counter it, saying the survey has been done only for scientific purposes. On the other hand, experts believe that the research and survey hint preparation for oil mining in the coming years. This could also lead to a major conflict between superpowers. A New Path Of Future Conflict Has Opened? It is worth mentioning that Chile and Argentina also have claims on the British Antarctic region. Following the recent discovery, these countries will also start showing interest. Geo-political experts say that in the coming years, when natural resources start depleting, a new conflict may start between global powers over this oil reserve. What Is An Antarctic Treaty? The treaty was first signed by 12 countries during the Cold War to stop resource exploitation in the region. Today, around 56 countries have agreed to it. Russia, which is not a part of the treaty, said it plans to break its ban on extracting resources. Moscow still says it will follow the treaty.
India.com
6 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Russia Strikes Oil Jackpot Beneath Antarctica – Is This End Of Saudi Arabia's Throne? A Global Energy War Now Looms
Moscow/New Delhi: A startling discovery beneath the frozen edges of the planet has set off waves of concern, awe and speculation. Russian scientists claim to have found one of the world's largest reserves of crude oil (an estimated 511 billion barrels) buried deep under Antarctica's icy crust. This massive figure not only dwarfs known reserves but also raises pressing questions about future global power struggles, environmental risks and the fate of long-standing international agreements. Conducted in the Weddell Sea region by Russia's state-backed geological agency Rosgeo, the survey revealed oil reserves that exceed the total volume of crude ever extracted by humans. This discovery, experts warn, could shift the world's energy balance and turn Antarctica from a scientific sanctuary into the next geopolitical battlefield. Although Russia insists the mission was purely scientific, the timing and scale of the discovery are prompting alarm. Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, all military or commercial exploitation of natural resources on the continent remains strictly prohibited. Several observers suspect that Moscow's intentions extend beyond peaceful research. A Brewing Global Flashpoint? The area where this oil lies is part of the British Antarctic Territory, a region that also sees claims from Chile and Argentina. These overlapping claims now carry added weight as interest grows among nations sensing a resource opportunity buried under ice. What was once a cold and silent expanse of cooperation might soon witness contesting flags and strategic maneuvers. During the Cold War, 12 countries signed the Antarctic Treaty to keep the continent shielded from military and commercial rivalry. Today, over 50 countries are part of that pact. None have so far challenged the treaty's core rule of non-extraction until now. Experts such as Professor Klaus Dodds from Royal Holloway University argue that Russia's survey is a smokescreen for deeper ambitions. He called the oil mission a 'thinly veiled attempt' to open the door to future drilling – warning that tapping into a 500-billion-barrel reserve could tilt the global energy market on its head. Melting Ice, Uncovering Riches As Antarctica's glaciers slowly retreat due to rising global temperatures, the continent's hidden layers are coming into view. With over 70% of the world's freshwater frozen beneath its surface, Antarctica's thaw poses both a climate risk and a resource temptation. Environmentalists fear that exploiting such massive fossil fuel reserves could have devastating consequences. Extracting oil on this scale would not only breach the treaty but could also accelerate climate change beyond control. Some scientists have already begun calling the discovery a potential 'death sentence for the planet' if countries attempt to access and burn that much carbon fuel. Despite this, voices within the geopolitical arena suggest that a scramble could be imminent. Global powers, hungry for new energy sources and strategic leverage, may begin circling the icy continent with more than just research in mind. A New Era for Antarctica? As nations weigh the discovery's implications, the future of Antarctica hangs in a fragile balance. What was once a land of scientific cooperation now faces the looming shadow of resource-driven conflict. The Russian oil discovery may have just opened a new and colder front in the global race for energy and the world is watching.
India.com
6 days ago
- Business
- India.com
Russia hits massive JACKPOT, bad news for Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, this discovery may cause a new…
Russia hits massive JACKPOT, bad news for Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Qatar, this discovery may cause a new… Russia's crude oil discovery may have revealed a hidden treasure but exploring it can devastate the planet. By Anirudha Yerunkar Edited by Anirudha Yerunkar Advertisement Russia has reportedly found the world's largest crude oil reserve beneath the British Antarctic Territory, a region long protected under international treaty. It is estimated to be 511 billion barrels of crude oil, and is being described as an 'ocean of oil' buried under the icy continent. Russia's Oil Discovery The discovery was made by Rosgeo, a Russian state-owned geological research company, during a scientific survey in the Weddell Sea region. According to reports, the estimated oil reserves are larger than the total amount of oil ever extracted from Earth to date. Advertisement === Though Russia claims the survey was purely scientific in nature, experts suggest it could be a strategic move to exploit Antarctica's natural resources. What's Antarctic Treaty? The 1959 Antarctic Treaty prohibits all military and commercial activities in the region, especially resource extraction. So far, over 56 countries including Russia have signed the treaty, which has helped preserve Antarctica for peaceful and scientific use. Advertisement === However, this oil discovery has raised alarm bells. Media reports claim that when the world begins to face severe shortages of natural resources, countries might start competing for control over the Antarctic's energy reserves. The British Antarctic Territory is also claimed by Chile and Argentina, both of whom have now shown interest in the region after the discovery. This can hamper the spirit of international cooperation in Antarctica and add geopolitical tensions. Can This End Saudi Arabia's Oil Dominance? With a reserve of over 511 billion barrels, the Antarctic oil deposit if ever tapped can surpass Saudi Arabia's current oil resources and reshape global energy dominance. This has raised concern that nations may eventually ignore treaties and race to claim a piece of this massive resource. Experts fear that if the global community fails to uphold the Antarctic Treaty, the continent could become the next battleground for energy supremacy. While the discovery may give a potential boost to global energy security, it also increases risk to Earth's environmental stability.
Daily Maverick
29-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Maverick
Putin's oil and gas man joins secretive Antarctic Treaty meeting in Milan
The Russian official — until recently in charge of the firm that has stitched together vast maps of South Pole hydrocarbons — is helping negotiate Putin's 'scientific' interests at the prestigious diplomatic gathering in Milan. It may not be insignificant that Russia's delegation at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) in the Italian fashion capital includes Pavel Lunev. Until April 2023, Lunev had been head of the Russian state firm responsible for mapping Antarctica's oil, gas and other minerals — at least since the region's mining ban entered into force in 1998. That firm is owned by Rosgeo — the Kremlin's mineral explorer. Indeed, Lunev would land a weighty promotion after Rosgeo's seismic survey ship had once more headed via Cape Town to the Antarctic seabed in the austral summer of 2023 for another season of 'scientific research'. That event sparked environmental protests at the port city's V&A Waterfront — one of South Africa's most popular tourist destinations — and a letter of demand by 29 South African groups, which called on Pretoria to intervene. Pretoria's answer at the time? The Russian state mineral explorer was free to pursue its interests under the treaty's 'freedom of scientific investigation' principle — also allowed by the region's mining ban. Moscow's response? Giving Lunev a top job in Antarctica: that is, heading the Russian Antarctic Expedition, the state agency that executes Moscow's operational interests in the frigid southern frontier. Who is Pavel Lunev? A trained palaeontologist with tousled hair and a smile fit for the cover of Outside magazine, Lunev now appears in a suit and tie in a Russian press statement on the delegation's work in Milan — wearing a look that says, 'I'm not outside right now.' Lunev previously told Daily Maverick that geological and geophysical surveys by Rosgeo's Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition (PMGE) was 'no different from the work conducted by other members' signed up to Antarctica's environmental laws. Indeed, some of PMGE's work includes standard sciences such as glacial evolution. The Rosgeo subsidiary had also probed 'the glacial processes, dynamics and evolution of the ice sheet, and the stages of Antarctic glaciation' and 'the nature and foundation of the Earth's crust', said Lunev. However, recent developments also involve: A July 2024 Russian-Chinese Antarctic geology paper that suggests nothing about prospecting, but appears in the state mining journal. Paper author Professor German Leitchenkov, a PMGE collaborator who has extensively researched Antarctica's mineral 'potential', presented his research on sub-ice sampling at an international Antarctic science conference held in Chile in August 2024; PMGE's stated goals up to at least 2030, which include identifying the Southern Ocean's 'mineral raw material potential'; A 2022 PMGE petroleum geology paper, which describes the 'high oil and gas potential' in the D'Urville Sea off East Antarctica; A February 2020 Rosgeo statement, which used Cape Town port to announce 70 billion tons of hydrocarbons off East Antarctica (500 billion barrels or 15 times global annual oil consumption); and … Documented claims betraying the Russian state's geopolitical motivations: 'The works of the PMGE aimed at studying the geological structure and mineral resources of the Antarctic are of geopolitical nature. They ensure guarantees of Russia's full participation in any form of possible future development of the Antarctic mineral resources — from designing the mechanisms for regulating such activities up to their direct implementation,' PMGE revealed in 2017. Leitchenkov's joint paper in a July 2024 edition of the Russian state journal, the 'Exploration and Protection of Mineral Resources'. (Image: Screenshot) Westminster releases findings on Russian hydrocarbon surveys Meanwhile, Westminster's newly released findings on the UK's Antarctic interests, issued this month, devote a section to 'commercial mining' and the Russian activities uncovered by Daily Maverick. According to the report, 'the Russian state-owned vessel [Akademik] Alexander Karpinsky has conducted seismic surveys in Antarctic waters, identifying potential hydrocarbon reserves estimated at 70 billion tonnes' — an activity that 'raised serious concerns' during the inquiry. In addition to findings published in October 2021 and May 2022, in May 2024 Daily Maverick also revealed that the Karpinsky had spent six summers since 2011 surveying for oil and gas in an area counterclaimed by Argentina, Chile and the UK. Asked to explain the Russian activities during Westminster's May 2024 inquiry, UK Polar Regions head Jane Rumble claimed that 'Russia has been tackled on this before and, in fact, has assured the ATCM on multiple occasions that this is a science programme, so we'll keep it under review'. Just, in fact, two 'assurances' The June 2025 inquiry findings quote Rumble's claim. However, the ATCM database contains no record of any government, including Rumble's, 'tackling' Russia 'on this' matter. As for 'multiple assurances', Russia had offered just one by the time Rumble made her claim. It was offered nearly a quarter of a century before at the 2002 Warsaw ATCM — where the Russian delegation did argue scientific intent in a draft document published by Daily Maverick. Yet, this draft also refuses to rule out 'utilisation of the Antarctic mineral wealth' which may only occur 'in the indefinitely remote future'. Russia delivered one additional 'assurance' — on 24 May 2024, but only after Rumble had delivered her testimony on 8 May. A media firestorm erupted after Rumble's testimony, capped by Chilean president Gabriel Boric twice tweeting that Santiago would defend its claimed territory against oil exploitation. So, not everyone has approached Russia's self-declared interests in Antarctic oil and gas like a geopolitical wet-floor sign. In February 2024, Washington — the treaty depositary — placed the Karpinsky under energy sanctions. And the US delegation had led an initiative reaffirming Antarctica's mining ban at the 2023 ATCM in Helsinki, Finland. Ukraine, immediately after the 2024 ATCM in Kochi, India, said Russia was blocking environmental initiatives, which 'once again confirms that the true intentions of its presence in Antarctica is mining'. Russia also reaffirmed the ban in Helsinki and Rumble, in her inquiry defence, said that 'there isn't any evidence that would point to a breach of the treaty. You would need different equipment between surveying and actual exploitation. There is not a shift to it, but, yes, we are watching it very closely.' Rumble has not responded to queries sent since last year. This is 'manifestly prospecting … what the Russians are doing' Some experts disagree that the act of putting a symbolic signature on the reaffirmation of the mining ban refutes the documented reality of Rosgeo's activities. Westminster's inquiry findings, in fact, point out that the 'Article 7' mining ban 'prohibits 'any activity relating to mineral resources, other than scientific research''. While the ban does not define a 'mineral resource' activity, the inquiry findings do. 'Any activity relating to mineral resources,' the findings say, 'includes prospecting, exploration and exploitation for commercial purposes'. And it is Antarctic governance expert Professor Alan Hemmings, of New Zealand's University of Canterbury, who told Daily Maverick in a recent webinar that the 'Karpinsky has been engaged in what is manifestly mineral prospecting'. Hemmings explains: 'Article 7 prohibits mineral resource activities, and mineral resource activities were defined in an earlier treaty that didn't enter into force quite carefully. And among the things that constitute mineral resource activities was prospecting. 'That's what the Russians are doing.' Why is Russia in Milan? It is unclear what submissions the Russian delegation will be making at this year's ATCM, which concludes on Thursday, 3 July. Yet, since the details of these 'prospecting' activities have not been tabled at any ATCM, it is highly unlikely that Moscow's envoys are now in Milan to formally discuss that contentious matter. The agenda remains opaque because the meeting has been a closed-door event since the treaty was signed in 1959 and that is why the press is stopped from reporting on the live substance of the 10-day talks. This year, the Russian statement from Milan says, the discussions are expected to focus on matters such as science and tourism. Lucia Sala Simeon, the only journalist reportedly at 30 minutes of the 'public' opening plenary, noted that she was briefly allowed into the venue. 'I was accompanied by a member of staff — who kept a close eye on me,' notes the Milan-based reporter. 'I was the only journalist there.' She added: 'I had to leave the room and was escorted out; in the next few days, I would no longer be allowed inside the venue, not even in the lounge. So, I'll be staying outside in the garden, like a homeless [person].' Italy, South Africa — reactions, non-reactions Italy's foreign ministry has not responded to Daily Maverick's multiple queries first sent August 2024. Treaty party South Africa, under a revamped 'conservation'-focused delegation, in an interview said Pretoria's 'non-aligned' stance was an advantage in negotiating with the most obstructive actors at the consultative table. Thus, Russia and China, which have — among others — used their vetoes to block an emperor penguin rescue plan at recent ATCMs. South Africa says it supports emperor penguin protection. 'We want a much more active engagement with the Russian and Chinese delegations,' said South Africa's lead negotiator, Ashley Johnson. 'Perhaps we can edge them closer to a conservationist approach.' Rosgeo's defence of its activities, shared with Daily Maverick in October 2021, can be read here. However, Russian authorities have not responded to our repeated attempts to reach them since Lunev's most recent response in May 2022. The Russian delegation did not respond to queries on Sunday. DM
