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Protesters from Greenpeace in the water outside the rig yard in Olen, western Norway. (Photo: Greenpeace)
Exxon Begins Drilling Russia's Pristine Arctic Waters
Despite U.S. sanctions, drilling marks business-as-usual for international oil giant
Aug 10, 2014
Despite increasing western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, Exxon Mobil has begun drilling their first well in Russia's pristine Arctic territory on Saturday.
"Today, commercial success is driven by efficient international cooperation," Reuters reported Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying on a video conference with Glenn Waller, ExxonMobil's lead manager in Russia, and Igor Sechin, CEO of Exxon's Russian partner Rosneft, which currently has sanctions imposed against it by the United States.
"Businesses, including Russian and foreign companies, perfectly realize that and despite certain current political difficulties, pragmatism and common sense prevail, and we are pleased to hear that," Putin continued.
The West Alpha drilling rig, brought in by the oil giant from Norway, is the first to tap the earth beneath the Kara Sea. Environmental campaigners have long-warned that an oil spill in the Arctic would be devastating to the unique and unspoiled Arctic ecosystem. The territory slated for drilling, the Akademichesky field in the East- Prinovozemelsky -1 license block, overlaps the Russian Arctic National Park ad threatens the wildlife at the nearby Novaya Zemlya Russian National Park, according to Greenpeace.
Further, the Russian territory does not require the presence of a relief rig, which would be critical to intercepting a spill before it spreads to Arctic ice.
"An oil spill in these icy areas will be impossible to clean up, and there is no point to go to these extreme areas to drill for oil that the world cannot afford to burn anyway - if we are to stay within safe climate targets," said Truls Gulowsen, Campaign Manager Greenpeace Norway. This spring, Greenpeace activists aboard the Esperanza vessel protested in the waters of Olen, Norway as the rig was being prepared for drilling.
In a related development, Greenpeace's vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, returned to the Netherlands on Saturday--almost a year after Russian officials seized the ship and detained 30 activists and journalists for protesting at an offshore oil rig owned by Russian state oil giant Gazprom.
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Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Despite increasing western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, Exxon Mobil has begun drilling their first well in Russia's pristine Arctic territory on Saturday.
"Today, commercial success is driven by efficient international cooperation," Reuters reported Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying on a video conference with Glenn Waller, ExxonMobil's lead manager in Russia, and Igor Sechin, CEO of Exxon's Russian partner Rosneft, which currently has sanctions imposed against it by the United States.
"Businesses, including Russian and foreign companies, perfectly realize that and despite certain current political difficulties, pragmatism and common sense prevail, and we are pleased to hear that," Putin continued.
The West Alpha drilling rig, brought in by the oil giant from Norway, is the first to tap the earth beneath the Kara Sea. Environmental campaigners have long-warned that an oil spill in the Arctic would be devastating to the unique and unspoiled Arctic ecosystem. The territory slated for drilling, the Akademichesky field in the East- Prinovozemelsky -1 license block, overlaps the Russian Arctic National Park ad threatens the wildlife at the nearby Novaya Zemlya Russian National Park, according to Greenpeace.
Further, the Russian territory does not require the presence of a relief rig, which would be critical to intercepting a spill before it spreads to Arctic ice.
"An oil spill in these icy areas will be impossible to clean up, and there is no point to go to these extreme areas to drill for oil that the world cannot afford to burn anyway - if we are to stay within safe climate targets," said Truls Gulowsen, Campaign Manager Greenpeace Norway. This spring, Greenpeace activists aboard the Esperanza vessel protested in the waters of Olen, Norway as the rig was being prepared for drilling.
In a related development, Greenpeace's vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, returned to the Netherlands on Saturday--almost a year after Russian officials seized the ship and detained 30 activists and journalists for protesting at an offshore oil rig owned by Russian state oil giant Gazprom.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Despite increasing western sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine, Exxon Mobil has begun drilling their first well in Russia's pristine Arctic territory on Saturday.
"Today, commercial success is driven by efficient international cooperation," Reuters reported Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying on a video conference with Glenn Waller, ExxonMobil's lead manager in Russia, and Igor Sechin, CEO of Exxon's Russian partner Rosneft, which currently has sanctions imposed against it by the United States.
"Businesses, including Russian and foreign companies, perfectly realize that and despite certain current political difficulties, pragmatism and common sense prevail, and we are pleased to hear that," Putin continued.
The West Alpha drilling rig, brought in by the oil giant from Norway, is the first to tap the earth beneath the Kara Sea. Environmental campaigners have long-warned that an oil spill in the Arctic would be devastating to the unique and unspoiled Arctic ecosystem. The territory slated for drilling, the Akademichesky field in the East- Prinovozemelsky -1 license block, overlaps the Russian Arctic National Park ad threatens the wildlife at the nearby Novaya Zemlya Russian National Park, according to Greenpeace.
Further, the Russian territory does not require the presence of a relief rig, which would be critical to intercepting a spill before it spreads to Arctic ice.
"An oil spill in these icy areas will be impossible to clean up, and there is no point to go to these extreme areas to drill for oil that the world cannot afford to burn anyway - if we are to stay within safe climate targets," said Truls Gulowsen, Campaign Manager Greenpeace Norway. This spring, Greenpeace activists aboard the Esperanza vessel protested in the waters of Olen, Norway as the rig was being prepared for drilling.
In a related development, Greenpeace's vessel, the Arctic Sunrise, returned to the Netherlands on Saturday--almost a year after Russian officials seized the ship and detained 30 activists and journalists for protesting at an offshore oil rig owned by Russian state oil giant Gazprom.
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