Arctic contains huge deposits of oil and natural gas

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the Arctic region is the largest unexplored prospective area for petroleum remaining on earth.²¹ The agency estimated that the Arctic may hold as much as ninety billion barrels of undiscovered oil reserves, and 1,670 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.²² This would amount to 13% of the world’s total undiscovered oil and about 30% of the undiscovered natural gas. With an average consumption rate of eighty six million barrels per day, “the potential oil in the Arctic could meet global demand for almost three years.”²³ The Arctic’s potential natural gas resources are three times bigger, which is equal to Russia’s gas reserves, which are the world’s largest.²⁴