Anyone with even a passing grasp of what it costs to do anything in the deep Arctic will instinctively wince—the kind of wince that comes with knowing this frozen hellscape is one of the most brutal and expensive environments on Earth. No jungle, no desert, not even most deepwater plays elsewhere come close in terms of sheer logistical torment. Sure, there are monster oil and gas fields buried up there, but as long as shale still has legs, Africa remains scandalously underexplored, and friendlier offshore zones keep coughing up hope, the deep Arctic is little more than a geopolitical hallucination. I get why Russia keeps waving it around like a golden ticket—it’s practically all they’ve got left in terms of untapped, world-class reserves, and they’re praying for a second act once the collapse breathing down their necks finally hits. China? Well, China will sniff at anything shiny. But the U.S.? It’s got far better cards to play.
US, Russia and China circle the Arctic
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About the Author: Rudolf Huber
