Drilling for oil in Antarctica could become profitable.

ABC Tasmania abc.net.au
Friday, 14 July 2006

An Iranian oil expert in Hobart for an international conference on Antarctica says the world needs to adapt as oil supplies diminish. Ali Samsam Bakhtiari says if oil prices reach $US200 per barrel, drilling in Antarctica could become profitable. He says he hopes it never happens, but doubts any international treaty could protect the frozen continent. "It will certainly not happen tomorrow, you need time, you need much higher prices," he said.

"Antarctica is the last frontier and, in my opinion, it is the home of 20 million penguins." Meantime, the Australian Antarctic Division says rising fuel costs are forcing it to re-examine its work on the frozen continent. The division's director, Tony Press, says Australia is already looking at a number of changes to respond to higher fuel costs. "We're looking at things like alternative energy, we've got industrial size wind generation in Antarctica, we're looking at hydrogen," he said.

"But there are other economies we need to look at, including how efficiently we operate, but that might mean how we collaborate with other countries."