Exxon Strikes Deal With Russia for Arctic Drilling

Letting other countries produce oil cures nothing: Krauthammer

(NEWSER) - Asked why she so vehemently opposes offshore drilling, Nancy Pelosi recently replied, “I’m trying to save the planet.” Which is a nice thought, Charles Krauthammer writes in the Washington Post, but it’s completely illogical. We’re not saving the planet by leaving the drilling to the likes of Nigeria, where corruption and neglect routinely lead to spills, pipeline explosions, and illegal siphoning. More»

Lucy Lawless, five other Greenpeace activists busted in New Zealand

(NEWSER) - Lucy Lawless was arrested today in New Zealand along with five other Greenpeace members, three days after they boarded an oil-drilling ship that had been contracted by Shell. Lawless, aka Xena: Warrior Princess, occupied the vessel to protest its plan to do exploratory drilling off Alaska. "This chapter has ended, but the story of the battle to save the Arctic has just begun," she said in a statement. More»

Interior Department issues report to push back against complaints

(NEWSER) - With oil companies and Republicans criticizing the Obama administration for being too slow to issue new offshore drilling permits in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, the Interior Department hit back with a report yesterday revealing that the industry isn’t using the majority of the leases it already has. More than 70% of offshore leases and more than half of onshore leases on federal lands currently “sit idle,” according to the report. More»

New Euro chief warns of competition for resources

(NEWSER) - NATO’s new European commander is wary of Russian intentions in the Arctic, where climate change is opening up trade routes and access to billions of barrels of oil. James Stavridis looks “at the high north and I think it could either be a zone of conflict, I hope not, a zone of competition, probably.” The US Navy admiral's assessment matches that of NATO’s secretary general, who has said climate change in the Arctic has “potentially huge security implications,” the Times of London reports. More»

(NEWSER) - A government-controlled Russian oil firm will be allowed to search for and extract oil from Cuba's portion of the Gulf of Mexico under a deal signed yesterday, the BBC reports. The Russian firm will work alongside Cuba's state-run oil monopoly a matter of miles off the coast of America. Cuba believes it has some 20 billion barrels of oil in offshore reserves, although US estimates put the total closer to 5 billion. More»