If the US Doesn't Want Arctic Oil, Russia Will Have No Trouble Going After It -- Not A Bakken Story

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THOUSANDS of feet beneath impenetrable ice the Russian commander meticulously checked his position and opened the mini-submarine's hatch. A mechanical arm gently lowered a rustproof flagpole on to the floor of the ocean, directly beneath the North Pole.

Back in Moscow this feat of daring in the world's most inhospitable region, claimed to have been carried out in the name of exploration, was celebrated and compared to the Moon landing. Elsewhere it was regarded as a blatant act of provocation by a nation desperate to get its hands on yet another chunk of the Arctic. With it comes an almost unimaginable wealth of resources, including billions of barrels of oil, which lie untapped beneath the frozen wastes.

The days when powerful nations sailed round the globe planting their flags on every patch of land they encountered have supposedly been consigned to history.

Now there are strict rules set by the United Nations about sovereignty and just eight countries in the region, including the US and Russia, have a claim on the Arctic.

These nations are permitted to exploit "economic zones" stretching 200 miles beyond their borders and, until the world woke up to the huge opportunities lying beneath the ice, no one seemed very bothered about claiming more.

While Russia moves forward in its exploration of the Arctic energy resources, American politicians delay offshore drilling and debate "cap and trade" rules.