The UK May Be Sitting On $35 Trillion Dollars Of Oil

While Ed Miliband prances around promoting the virtues of coastline windmills next to thousands of acres of dystopian solar panels, a quiet fact hides underneath the banister: the UK may well be an energy superpower. Not because we invented the world's first commercial nuclear power station at Calder Hall in 1947; but because our claims to Antarctica, have, by sheer happenstance, could have gifted us the entire GDP of the EU in black gold. Only one loathsome irritation: our pitiful secular "leaders" are enslaved to a neo-pagan religion based around an equality god they are desperate to save from climate apocalypse.

Seismic surveys were carried out for the Polar Marine Geosurvey Expedition (PMGE) by the Russian state-controlled geological agency Rosgeo using the research vessel Akademik Alexander Karpinsky in the Weddell sea. While some reports have estimated the presence of up to 511 billion barrels of oil, no actual drilling has taken place, and no recoverable reserves have been confirmed. The figures being cited are speculative, based solely on seismic imaging and geological interpretation. The US responded by sanctioning it for the invasion of Ukraine.

Seismic surveys use controlled sound pulses generated by trucks or airguns which penetrate underground rock layers. When these acoustic waves hit boundaries between different rock types, they reflect back to surface receivers called geophones, which record the timing and strength of returning waves. Computers process this data to create detailed subsurface maps showing rock layer depths, thicknesses, and structural features.

Oil accumulates in porous rocks trapped beneath impermeable layers, and seismic data reveals these formations through their distinct acoustic signatures. Different rock types produce characteristic wave reflections - oil-bearing formations often show "bright spots" or amplitude anomalies in the data. Modern 3D seismic surveys map underground structures with high precision, allowing companies to identify optimal drilling targets, avoid dry holes, and significantly reduce exploration costs while minimizing environmental impact.

Critics, including looney climate apocalypse priests cited in UK parliamentary hearings, see it as geopolitical maneouvering meant to unsettle other treaty parties. Others believe it's a wicked Russian scheme by evil Putin. If the appalling Byline Times is rattled and sanctimonious, that alone should be enough for anyone: it makes perfect sense Putin, a known 10% skimmer, wants his dirty little mitts on minerals. It's unlikely he gives a hoot whether fluffy academics think he spends his hours playing geopolitical chess over obscure treaties – as they might in the faculty lounge. Such is the vanity of our "experts," most of whom would be incapable of making money running a drug cartel.

Under current "international law," notably the 1959 Antarctic Treaty and its 1991 Madrid Protocol, all mining and mineral resource activities in Antarctica are explicitly prohibited. The UK remains a signatory to these agreements, which classify the continent as a demilitarised, scientific preserve no-one will ever see or walk on. Argentina and Chile, both of which maintain overlapping territorial claims in the region, have expressed alarm at Russia's behaviour. Chilean lawmakers have even made symbolic visits to Antarctic bases to reaffirm national sovereignty.

The Weddell Sea is a large, ice-covered embayment of the Southern Ocean, located to the east of the Antarctic Peninsula and bounded by Coats Land and Norway's Queen Maud Land. It spans roughly 2.8 million square kilometres and is among the coldest and most remote seas on Earth. Named after British sailor James Weddell who explored the area in 1823, the sea is notable for its dense sea ice, rich marine life (including krill, penguins, seals, and whales), Antarctic Bottom Water formation, and role in global ocean circulation. Thomas Henry described it in 1950 as "the most treacherous and dismal region on Earth." It was where the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s vessel Endurance was found in 2022.

Just our type of thing.

Those cute little penguins are going to need earmuffs.

The Antarctic Treaty entered into force in 1961 and currently has 56 parties. It freezes all territorial sovereignty claims without resolving them, preventing new claims from being made or existing ones from being expanded while the treaty is in force. Article XII allows any contracting party to withdraw after giving notice to all other parties. Withdrawal becomes effective two years after such notice is received.

(c) If any such modification or amendment has not entered into force in accordance with the provisions of subparagraph 1(a) of this Article within a period of two years after the date of its communication to all the Contracting Parties, any Contracting Party may at any time after the expiration of that period give notice to the depositary Government of its withdrawal from the present Treaty; and such withdrawal shall take effect two years after the receipt of the notice by the depositary Government.

In 1991, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was adopted and came into effect in 1998. It imposes a comprehensive indefinite ban on all mineral resource activity, including oil and gas exploration, except for scientific purposes – but may be reviewed after the protocol has been in force for 50 years, i.e. after 2048. It also includes a withdrawal clause (Article 25), which allows parties to exit the protocol with one year’s notice, provided they are also withdrawing from the main treaty.

(b) If any such modification or amendment has not entered into force within 3 years of the date of its adoption, any Party may at any time thereafter notify to the Depositary of its withdrawal from the Protocol, and such withdrawal shall take effect 2 years after receipt of the notification by the Depositary.

In other words, withdrawal from the protocol alone is not possible unless the party also withdraws from the Antarctic Treaty itself. Not a problem.