Good news! Cairn Energy's Arctic drilling misadventures are over

After spending more than a billion dollars and risking ecological disaster in the biggest oil exploration campaign ever in the Arctic, Cairn has found no commercially extractable oil at all, putting its entire Arctic drilling project in doubt.

The astronomical costs (and the company's plummeting share price) mean that there will be no further exploratory drilling off Greenland for the foreseeable future.

Not by Cairn, anyway.

Other oil companies - including Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Statoil - all hold licenses to drill in an untouched area off the north-east coast of Greenland. Elsewhere in the Arctic, Shell plans to start drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas of Alaska next year, and Gazprom in the Pechora Sea north of Siberia.

Cairn's demise is good news for the environment but we must remain vigilant.

BP oil disaster

More oil is spilled from the Niger delta network of terminals, pipes, pumping stations and oil platforms every year than has been lost in the Gulf of Mexico, the site of the major ecological catastrophe caused by oil that has poured from a leak triggered by the explosion that wrecked BP's Deepwater Horizon rig.

Tar sands are among the world’s dirtiest fuels

Their extraction produces on average three times the greenhouse gases of conventional oil. The associated pollution, deforestation and disturbance of wildlife also threaten the traditional livelihoods and well-being of indigenous communities.

If you are a pension holder it is highly likely that your pension provider has substantial shareholdings held on your behalf, either in Shell or other companies involved in tar sands developments. Friends of the Earth Europe and FairPensions have created an online action that will target Shell and BP shareholders directly. You can express your concerns to your pension provider or if you don't have a pension you can email one of Shell and BP's largest shareholders.

Dirty oil and climate change

As the film 'Dirty Oil' premieres this week we cam across these interesting facts. We were particularly surprised to learn that most oil used in the US now comes from 'dirty oil' in Canada, rather than traditional suppliers such as Saudi Arabia. Dr. Gary Robertshaw The Green Providers Directory •Tar sands consist of oil trapped in a complex mixture of sand, water and clay. •The extraction and production of tar sands emits on average three times as much carbon dioxide as the extraction and production of conventional oil. •Canada has proven tar sand reserves of 174 billion barrels of oil, second only to Saudi Arabia's conventional reserves. •Canada has probable reserves of 315 billion barrels of oil, accessible using technology currently under development. •Canada's ultimate reserves of tar sands are thought to be 1.7 trillion barrels of oil. •Shell, ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Total and BP all have projects and expansion plans or planned developments in Canada's tar sands. •Current production is in the region of 1.3 million barrels of oil per day. •$125 billion has been earmarked for tar sand developments within the next few years. The industry is calling for this to be trebled to $379 billion by 2025. •Oil companies have plans to extract 5.5 million barrels of oil per day by 2020. Production is forecast to increase to between 3.5 million and 6.2 million barrels per day by 2020. Licenses have been granted to increase production to 7 million barrels per day. Shale Oil•Shale oil consists of oil trapped in sedimentary rock, which is released when the rock is super-heated. •Shale oil extraction emits up to eight times more carbon dioxide than conventional oil extraction. •Shale oil exploitation is still at the research and development stage, but millions of dollars are being invested to make it viable. •The US has estimated shale oil reserves of 1.5 trillion barrels of oil, probable accessible reserves are thought to be 800 billion barrels of oil. •Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil are all developing methods to exploit shale oil or have expressed an interest in doing so.