We might have more oil than we thought?

Arctic May Hold 90 Billion Barrels of Oil, U.S. Says

July 23 (Bloomberg) — The Arctic may hold 90 billion barrels of oil, more than all the known reserves of Nigeria, Kazakhstan and Mexico combined, and enough to supply U.S. demand for 12 years, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

One-third of the undiscovered oil is in Alaskan territory, the agency found in a study released today. By contrast, a geologic formation beneath the North Pole claimed by Russian scientists last year probably holds just 1.2 percent of the Arctic’s crude, the U.S. report showed.

Energy producers such as Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp. have accelerated exploration of the northernmost regions for untapped reserves amid record prices and receding access to deposits in more hospitable climates. Russia’s move to scrap a United Nations convention and carve out an exclusive Arctic zone sparked protests from Canada, the U.S., Norway and Denmark.

“Most of the Arctic, especially offshore, is essentially unexplored with respect to petroleum,” Donald Gautier, the project chief for the assessment, said in the report. “The extensive Arctic continental shelves may constitute the geographically largest unexplored prospective area for petroleum remaining on Earth.”

Russia dispatched a nuclear-powered icebreaker to the Arctic Ocean last year to map a subsea link between Siberia and the North Pole as part of a bid to refute a UN convention limiting resource claims beyond 200 miles (321 kilometers) offshore. Canada said earlier this month that it plans to counter the Russian overture with “a very strong claim” to Arctic exploration rights.

No Time Estimate

The U.S. report didn’t include an estimate for how long it will take to bring the reserves to markets. Offshore fields in the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa can take a decade or longer to begin pumping oil.

The geologists studied maps of subterranean rock formations across the 8.2 million square miles above the Arctic Circle to find areas with characteristics similar to oil and gas finds in other parts of the world.

The study also took into account the age, depth and shape of rock formations in judging whether they are likely to contain oil, Gautier said today during a conference call with reporters. Seismic data doesn’t yet exist for most of the Arctic, he said.

“Petroleum doesn’t just occur anywhere,” Gautier said. “It requires a very narrow set of burial conditions.”

Well wait just a damn minute, this oil is ON OUR SIDE OF THE BORDERS? We actually could have our own oil and depend on US for it? Well that just wont do. We need to be in debt to the Middle East. We need to continue funding the radical ideologies of hate everything not MUSLIM because the environmentalists think there may be an accident and cause damage to the ice or sea life or whatever.

12 years of our needs can be derived from the arctic. IF so, go get it. And while you are getting it, FUND some damn renewable energy plans, build some nuke plants and explore other alternatives with the deadline of 12 years to be fully on the alternative…..Do it and do it now, then maybe we can get our boys home from the desert.