Fracking Comes to the Arctic in a New Alaska Oil Boom

Alaska’s North Slope region, including the National Petroleum Reserve (NPRA), Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and Trans-Alaska Pipeline (TAPS). US Geological Survey/Wikipedia

 

Arctic lands and waters hold irresistible allure for global oil companies. Despite opposition from environmental groups and President Obama’s 2016 ban on drilling in federal Arctic waters, exploration in Alaska has revealed massive new volumes of oil.

This comes at a time of low oil prices, when many observers felt the Arctic would remain off limits. Alaska has proved precisely the opposite. Although it has gone largely unnoticed outside the industry, foreign firms are partnering with American companies to pursue these new possibilities. I expect this new wave of Arctic development will help increase US oil production and influence in world oil markets for at least the next several decades.

German spy agency’s new home flooded after taps stolen

The nearly completed building in central Berlin is to be the new headquarters of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, the BND, which is currently based in Munich.

On Wednesday, the building suffered extensive water damage after someone tampered with the water pipes despite strict security on site. As a result, water flooded cable and air shafts and suspended ceilings for several hours, according to daily “Berliner Zeitung.”