Cool news from Iceland

From The American Interest:

Iceland On Cusp of Oil Boom?
Iceland is sitting pretty for what will likely be the world�s next oil boom. The USGS estimates that the Arctic circle holds roughly 13 percent of the world�s undiscovered oil, and as the world warms, that ice is melting, uncovering billions of barrels of black gold. Countries are licking their lips at the possibility of tapping these reserves, and tiny Iceland is well-positioned to take advantage. The North Atlantic Current keeps the country�s harbors ice-free, making it an ideal jumping-off point for countries like China who are eager to invest in new oil plays. And, as the New York Times reports, Iceland is working towards developing some of this Arctic oil for itself:

It issued two licenses for oil exploration in January and is finalizing a third, hoping to pave the way for rigs to drill beneath its seas for the first time. Still, any drilling is probably years off, and will happen only if fresh studies confirm the signs that significant amounts of oil may be present under the sea floor. [...]

�There�s definitely something interesting there,� [Andy Brogan, oil and gas transactions leader at Ernst & Young] said. If the undersea rocks prove to be as rich in oil as those in Norway, �then there could be some quite big prospects there.�

�It�s one of those high risk, high return options,� he added.

Admittedly we�re still too early on in the process to know how this will pan out. Analysts predict that Iceland is still three years away from drilling the exploratory wells that will make or break these projects, and at least a decade away from commercial production. But for a country still clawing its way out of the 2008 financial crisis, there�s real reason to be optimistic about the future.

Very cool -- I spent two months there in 1974 and loved it and loved the people. Backpacked into some amazing places and helped dig out the town of Heimaey after the Eldfell volcano buried the town the previous year. The tephra was like peppercorns and learned to drive a Cat D6. Camped out on the site of the �ingvellir Good that they have some solid resources after the failure of their bankster gamble.