Russia has discovered huge oil and gas reserves in Antarctica, much of it in areas , to which the United Kingdom has claims, reported the "Sunday Telegraph" newspaper, quoted by the BNR.
The exploration is a prelude to the introduction of drilling rigs to exploit the pristine region for fossil fuels, British diplomats have warned, quoted by the publication.
Reserves totaling 511 billion barrels of oil – around 10 times the entire output of the North Sea in 50 years, have been reported to Moscow by Russian research vessels, according to reports given to Britain's parliamentary environment committee. More specifically, studies of the vessel "Alexander Karpinski" belonging to "Rosgeo" are cited. – the Russian agency charged with prospecting for mineral reserves for commercial exploitation.
The so-called Antarctic Treaty of 1959 regulates international relations in Antarctica. It regards the continent as a scientific reserve, but prohibits the development of minerals or oil. Military activity is also prohibited. One of the deputy foreign ministers, David Rutley, told the committee that his department had decided to trust Russian assurances that it was simply conducting scientific research, but experts disagreed, warning that Russia should be trusted to comply its duties is naive, as evidenced by its invasion of Ukraine.
Claus Dodds, Professor of Geopolitics at King's College "Holloway" said Russia's activities are much closer to oil and gas exploration than real science.