Russia confirmed to the Government the discovery of oil near Antarctica, but they say it was a long time ago

The Russian government confirmed to Argentina the discovery of oil in Antarctic waters. And he also assured him that his activities are scientific and “do not violate” the Antarctic Treaty. But they reported that the discovery was made almost four years ago.

To tell the truth, the information is generic and arises from a consultation carried out by the Argentine Foreign Ministry, through its embassy in Moscow, to Vladimir Putin’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The consultation was carried out in the last few hours, according to what was learned Clarionbased on the commotion caused in the international community by the publication on the BRICS news site and the British newspaper The Telegraph that a Russian scientific ship had found oil reserves of around 511,000 million barrelswhich could double Saudi Arabia’s reserves and is 10 times the North Sea production in recent years.

The news greatly worried the British political circle and to a lesser extent the Argentines because the first information showed that this supposed discovery took place. in waters of the Antarctic territory claimed, and overlapping, by Argentina, Chile and the United Kingdom. That is, in the Weddell Sea area.

For Argentina, it is not only a relevant fact in Antarctic issues where there are high interests, but also boosts the value of the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich. The fact is also provocative because the Antarctic Treaty requires that said territory be used only for scientific and peaceful purposes. Oil exploitation would not only be unviable, but an act of provocation at a time when geopolitical struggles also affect the use of Antarctica and its resources.

In that consultation they pointed out something unusual because They said that the discovery dates back to 2020 and is not current. What happened now is that the British and Russians released information on a matter that is currently the subject of speculation.

The discovery, it was reported, was revealed during the sessions of the Environmental Audit Committee of the British House of Commons a few days ago. It was indicated that said committee was evaluating matters related to an investigation of oil and gas on ships owned by Kremlin’s Rosgeo, which is Russia’s largest geological exploration company. And it was reported that the Rosgeo ship Alexander Karpinsky did it when it was carrying out a series of studies in the region.

Other versions

Santiago Rivas, a specialist in military affairs and director of the Pucará Defensa Magazine, wrote this Wednesday that, despite the fact that after the May 8 meeting in the House of Commons the newspaper The Telegraph stated that this discovery of oil deposits not only It was not recent, but it was in the Weddell Sea, “the reality is that the meeting referred to a discovery made in the 2019/2020 summer campaign, which was already disclosed in 2020 by RosGeo itself.”

Other versions consulted by Clarion They claim that there was “Russia’s intention” to revive this issue now that the Antarctic Treaty meeting in Kochi, India – from May 20 to 30 – will surely raise questions for the Russians about these issues and others. And they affirm that the British also have their intentions to raise the issue due to the strong enmity that exists between the two since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which strongly resented Russia’s ties with the West, particularly with the United States and the European Union, plus the United Kingdom.