Ongoing activity in the arctic: national and international interest and activity increase.

• Author: Wells, Garrison
• Position: ARCTIC

In the Arctic summer, the sun never sleeps. It is covered by a blanket of tundra--there are no trees, and in the winter it's a landscape of white-on-white, snow-speckled bluffs, ice covered coasts, and ice floes so cold they appear to be a frigid translucent blue. The average winter temperature in the Arctic is a bone-chilling -37 degrees Fahrenheit. In the short summers, when the pent-up tundra bursts with flora, temperatures range between 37 degrees and a sizzling 54 degrees Fahrenheit. It may be a frigid climate, but in some ways it is one of the hottest spots on earth, drawing the attention of national and international leaders, billion-dollar oil companies, environmentalists, and military groups worldwide.

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Oil in the Alaska Arctic

Underneath the Arctic beats a crude heart that could pump out enough oil to supply the entire world with oil for at least five years.

The US Geological Survey pegs the Arctic oil supply at an estimated 90 billion barrels, or about 13 percent of the world's undiscovered oil resources and 30 percent of its undiscovered conventional natural gas.

Despite this massive supply of oil and natural gas, major oil companies are chilling on the Arctic, chased away by a combination of rigid US regulations, sanctions against Russia, and the shaky price of crude. The majority of Arctic oil and gas projects are incredibly difficult to make profitable at today's oil prices, causing companies to flock to less-harsh climates.

Spanish company Repsol, for example, abandoned its leases for Alaska's Chukchi Sea in 2016, though in 2017 the oil giant and its partner Armstrong Energy announced the discovery of 1.2 billion barrels of oil on state land on the North Slope.

Shell ceased Alaska operations after investing billions of dollars into the Arctic in 2014. And despite a more business-friendly environment promised by the Trump administration intent on increasing energy independence, Shell is not coming back any time soon. "We still have no plans to pursue frontier exploration offshore Alaska for the foreseeable future," says Spokesman Ray Fisher.

Arctic oil producing veteran ExxonMobil has been exploring and pumping oil out of the Arctic for more than ninety years; and they too are adjusting to the changing Arctic. "ExxonMobil will continue to conduct and support research in key safety, health, and environment areas associated with Arctic exploration, such as oil spill prevention and response in ice and Arctic environments. This is required to build upon current technology and is consistent with a philosophy that demands continuous improvement," says ExxonMobil Spokesman Todd Spitler.

The direct beneficiaries of Arctic resource development, he adds, "are the people of the Arctic, who mostly welcome development and seek greater economic opportunity. ExxonMobil and other international oil companies operating in the Arctic invest heavily in community development and local employment."

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