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Global Warming Good News for Oil Industry
By Alan Lord and Lolo Laroche
Rising global temperatures will melt areas of the Arctic this century, a report prepared by the United States and seven other nations said on Monday.
It predicts that over the next 100 years, global warming could increase Arctic annual average temperatures 5 to 9 degrees Fahrenheit (3-5 degrees Celsius) over land and by up to 13 degrees (7 Celsius) over water. Warmer temperatures could raise global sea levels by as much as 3 feet (90 centimeters).
Such a change would threaten coastal cities, change growing patterns for vegetation and destroy habitats for some wildlife.
But it's not all doom and gloom, as the thaw would make such areas more accessible for oil and natural gas drilling, providing an energy-starved world with new areas for oil and gas exploration, the report says.
The Arctic region, particularly offshore, has huge oil and gas reserves, mostly in Russia, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and Norway.
Warmer temperatures would make it easier to drill and ship oil from the Arctic, the report says.
"Offshore oil exploration and production are likely to benefit from less extensive and thinner sea ice, although equipment will have to be designed to withstand increased wave forces and ice movement," the report continues.
Energy companies would also find it easier to transport oil and gas because the warmer temperatures would open sea routes.
"By the end of this century, the length of the navigation season along the Northern Sea route is projected to increase to about 120 days from the current 20-30 days," the report said.
The report, commissioned by the United States, Canada, Russia, Denmark, Iceland, Sweden, Norway and Finland, concluded that global warming is heating the Arctic almost twice as quickly as the rest of the planet in a thaw that may threaten millions of livelihoods.
As global warming facilitates increased oil drilling, the increased oil drilling will increase the rate of global warming. This should open a period of unprecedented growth and increased profits for the oil industry, a boon period which will end only when the self-perpetuating fossil-fuel/global warming cycle has resulted in the extinction of all life on earth.
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