Russia has discovered huge oil and gas reserves in British Antarctic territory, which could potentially lead to drilling in the protected region.
The uncovered reserves contain around 511 billion barrels of oil. This is about ten times the North Sea’s production over the last 50 years.
The discovery of Russian research vessels was revealed last week in evidence presented to the House of Commons Environmental Audit Committee. The committee was investigating issues surrounding oil and gas research on vessels owned by Kremlin-owned Rosgeo, Russia’s largest geological exploration company.
Antarctica is currently protected by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, which prohibits any oil exploration in the area.
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Its establishment was intended to ensure that the region was used “exclusively for peaceful purposes” and “did not become a scene or subject of international discord.”
The committee heard Minister David Rutley, who assured MPs that Russia was conducting scientific research in the region. “Russia has recently reaffirmed its commitment to the key elements of the treaty,” he said.
However, Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway University, argued that the political environment in Antarctica was “probably the most difficult since the late 1980s and early 1990s”.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has “raised widespread concern that a deterioration in relations with that country will spark strategic competition and make it even more apparent in Antarctica”.
He believes that Russian activities in the region are more like oil and gas exploration than scientific research.
“Russia’s activities must be understood as a decision to undermine the norms associated with seismic research and are ultimately a harbinger of the resource extraction to come,” Dodds said in a commentary reported by the Telegraph.
The Antarctic Treaty is the largest of the 14 British overseas territories, but in the past it has faced competing claims from Argentina and Chile.
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The Foreign Ministry said: “Russia has repeatedly assured the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting that these activities serve scientific purposes.”
