It can be said without exaggeration: Russia has discovered huge oil reserves. Regarding oil reserves identified in the first half of May Russian research ships found in Antarctica, in the British Overseas Territories on the continent. Sovereignty over the British Antarctic Territory is disputed, because Chile and Argentina also claim part of the territory, claiming that it overlaps with their Antarctic territory. Many countries claim sovereignty over the territory of Antarctica, but these claims are illegal by the largest countries and international organizations in the world.
According to documents submitted to the British House of Commons Huge oil reserves Found in the Weddell Sea by Russian research ships.
The size of the identified reserves is enormous: 511 billion barrels.
This amount is equivalent to nearly ten times the amount of crude oil extracted from the North Sea over the past 50 years. The reserve amounts to 511 billion barrels, which is the second largest reserve in the world after the oil wealth in the Middle East. According to 2022 data, there are still 871 billion barrels of oil reserves in the countries of the Middle East. South America ranks third on the regional list with 331 billion barrels.
Source: AFP/Andrew Peacock/footloosephotography.com
If we put oil in Antarctica in terms of countries, Then we can talk about twice as much as one of the most important producers on EarthOPEC Its dominant member, Saudi Arabia, has
It is worth noting that the largest oil reserves, distributed by country, do not belong to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, but to Venezuela, which in 2022 possessed 19 percent of the known oil reserves in the world and a large part of the reserves of the entire world. South America region. However, extracting Venezuelan oil reserves is technically more difficult than those of Middle Eastern countries and less profitable. That's why, as Origo recently reported, fuel shortages have also occurred in the state that's richest in crude oil on paper.
At the same time, no matter how important the newly discovered Antarctic oil reserve is, it can only have scientific value, not economic value. Under the Antarctic Treaty, adopted in 1959 and entered into force in 1961, the continent does not belong to any state, and only scientific activities can be carried out on its territory. The extraction of mineral resources on the continent and the continuation of mining activities, including oil extraction, are strictly prohibited.
There are several research stations operating in Antarctica, whose staff mainly conduct research activities and analyzes related to climate change.
Russia, which announced the discovery of oil, does not even have a territorial claim similar to that of Britain or Chile regarding Antarctica. Meanwhile, the country operates several research stations in the region.
