From the ABCÂ
US Government scientists say they believe the Arctic holds as much as 90 billion barrels of oil, which is enough to meet the current world demand for almost three years.
The report by the US Geological Survey also estimates that the Arctic contains as much natural gas, more than 1,600 trillion cubic feet, as all the reserves known to exist in Russia.
This is the first time the survey has looked at the entire Arctic Circle and it says the area accounts for about 13 per cent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 per cent of its undiscovered natural gas.
As global warming melts the ice in the Arctic Circle the area becomes more accessible to companies that want to exploit its natural resources.
Energy companies have already found more than 400 oil and gas fields north of the Arctic Circle, but it is still essentially unexplored when it comes to fuel.
Russia is competing with China, Denmark, Norway and the United States to grab the huge energy resources in the Arctic, but environmentalists are warning that when oil companies move in, wildlife will be lost.