Medvedev: Russia will develop Arctic oil

RUSSIAN President Dmitry Medvedev has said developing the Arctic is crucial to sustaining Russian energy supplies because the region may hold a quarter of the world’s offshore oil and natural-gas reserves.

“Our first and main task is to turn the Arctic into a resource base for Russia in the 21st century,” Medvedev said yesterday before a meeting of Russia’s Security Council. “Using these resources will guarantee energy security for Russia as a whole.’

Russia is jockeying for Arctic territory with the US, Canada, Norway and Denmark, which all have territorial claims in the region. The North Pole may hold 10 billion tons of oil equivalent, as well as deposits of gold, nickel and diamonds, according to the Russian government. Russia claims 18% of the Arctic region, which touches on 20,000km of the country’s border, said Nikolai Patrushev of the Security Council. The government should draft a plan for the area by December 1, he said.