Many domestic oil exploration and drilling companies including Triple Diamond Energy Corp. search for oil reserves within the nation’s boundaries. Companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. that produce oil from U.S. land help us to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. However, there are also immeasurable amounts of oil to be found below the ocean floor. Many large oil companies around the world have set to the seas to discover new oil.
Russia: The World’s Second Largest Producer of Oil
The largest natural gas reserves on the planet can be found in Russia. Currently, Russia is the second largest exporter of oil coming in directly after Saudi Arabia. While Russia can boast a large natural gas reserve, the countries lack of proper resource management along with inadequate technology may have rendered the large quantity of resources absolutely useless. Many oil industry producers such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. are concerned that the resources available might be completely unsalvageable.
Foreign governments with experience working with natural resources and gasses have tried to intervene on several occasions. Many governments would be directly affected if Russia’s natural gas resources were to be rendered unavailable. At the same time, many people and countries would benefit from an expansion of current resources.
At this time, the Russian government has continued to refuse all offers of help despite of the fact that many experts have determined that Russia’s large reserves will be tapped by 2030 if operations are not increased. Instead of concentrating on expanding operations on current fields or asking for help from foreign oil corporations like Triple Diamond Energy Corp., they have instead turned their eyes elsewhere.
Who Owns the Rights to the Lomonosov Ridge?
In 2001, Russia decided to file a claim for nearly half a million square miles of Artic seabed that might hold billions of hydrocarbon reserves. The claim, submitted to the United Nations, stated that the Lomonosov Ridge was really a part of the Siberian continental shelf which made it part of Russia.
The claim requested that the United Nations formally acknowledge this stretch of land as part of Siberia so that Russia could be exploring the area for natural minerals and reserves. In the past, it was decided that a zone of twelve miles from all coastal countries (or 200 miles in some cases) would give each country exclusive rights for drilling and explorations. Since the Lomonosov Ridge is far beyond the maximum 200-mile radius, the United Nations denied the claim.
Russian Exploration of the Lomonosov Ridge
Despite the United Nations denial of their exclusive claims to the region, Russia has continued exploring the reef. The ridge could contain 10 billion tons of fresh reserves that could give Russia International prestige by making them one of the most powerful natural resource holders in the world. Not only would Russia be able to supply their own needs, they would also be able to make huge amounts of money by exporting to other countries whose own reserves are beginning to be depleted.
As the Russians work steadily to find a new reserve of natural resources, governments and oil companies such as Triple Diamond Energy Corp. all watch eagerly. At this point the ridge does not officially belong to any one country and anything discovered might be shared equally among all countries. In the mean time, American companies like Triple Diamond Energy Corp. will continue to explore new domestic wells in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil.