It has been announced that ministers from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States are in agreement to protect Arctic oil reserves from a possible future “oil rush”.

The U.S Geological Survey estimates that there could be billions of gallons of oil and natural gas trapped under the seabed of the Arctic Ocean. This could be as much as 25% of the global undiscovered oil and gas reserves.

During August of last year, Russian explorers planted their countries flag, 4 Kilometers beneath the North Pole, on the Arctic seabed. This sparked a debate as to who actually has rights for what may be held beneath the Arctic sea floor.

Following these events, Denmark sent an icebreaker to north Greenland on a geological research mission geared towards studying the seabed to see if it could be an extension of the Danish owned island.

The agreement is promising news which will hopefully provide a greater level of respect for the Arctic and its resources.