Exxon-Mobil reached agreement with 'alpha' Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to replace British Petroleum as partner to Russia state oil company, OAO Rosneft for drilling rights in the Arctic, one of the last untapped oil plays in the world. Mr. Putin presided over the signing ceremony in the Black Sea resort of Sochi in August. His personal participation in closing the deal is seen by observers as a sign he will return to formal power in the Kremlin. Exxon granted Rosneft participation in oil shale fields and deep-water projects in the Gulf of Mexico in return. That makes Rosneft the first Russian company to participate in developing US oil deposits. The companies plan to spend $3.2 billion exploring Russia's Arctic shelf, the Black Sea, and three existing blocks in the Kara Sea off eastern Russia. With global warming rapidly melting the Arctic ice pack--the Northeast Passage along Siberia's arctic coastline is now open to shipping--drilling is becoming more technically feasible. Shell Oil was granted rights for four exploratory wells in Alaska's Beaufort Sea, claiming it could end a blowout in just 43 days with a 90% recovery rate. In the much more benign and developed conditions of the Gulf of Mexico, BP was able to recover only 10% of the spilled crude. Oil exploration in arctic conditions remains a risky business with frightful implications for the fragile Arctic environment's health.
The first oil spill drill in severe Arctic conditions took place in 2000 and was officially described as a failure by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). There have been no subsequent official tests. This footage is from Oceana, the largest ocean conservation organization:
British exploration company, Cairn Energy is drilling exploratory wells off Greenland, and its oil response plan has come under heavy criticism from green activists for the company's "breathtaking irresponsibility". Greepeace, which has been actively protesting the drilling {"Greenland"} asked an oil spill expert to critique the company's response plan. The expert suggested the company has dramatically overestimated the effectiveness of any plan given harsh Arctic weather conditions and ice-cold seawater. Chemical dispersants, used extensively in the warm Gulf, will not work in near freezing seawater. Booms deployed to contain a slick do not work in rough seas or seas covered with floating ice floes. Rosneft told media that exploration will take place in complicated ice conditions and temperatures as low as minus 50℉. Arctic wildlife and native communities are faced with the inevitable oil spill with one major difference: the spill, potentially as large as the Macondo blowout, cannot be cleaned up, ever, given existing technology.