Exxon Mobil scored rare access to explore the Arctic water off of Russia's northern coast on Tuesday. The New York Times reports that the Exxon will replace BP in a partnership with Russia's state oil company Rosneft and has agreed "to hand over to Rosneft unspecified assets elsewhere in the world, including some that the Texas-based company owns in the deepwater zones of the Gulf of Mexico and onshore in Texas." According to information released by both companies, exploration will start in the Kara Sea, an increasingly popular drilling destination, The Times says, "in part because the sea ice appears to be receding, possibly because of global warming, easing exploration and drilling."

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Adam Clark Estes