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Juliette Kayyem

Under melting ice, a jackpot

Northern Alaska is booming as oil companies gear up to tap a goldmine

By Juliette Kayyem

 |  Globe Columnist  

  March 22, 2012

Barrow, Alaska, is changing. It has become a magnet for the explorers and environmentalists, businessmen and rescuers, scientists and engineers, all of whom come here because the Arctic is melting and there is oil in the once-frozen ocean. There are about 25 billion barrels of oil in the Arctic. Isolated Barrow, a place that has no road access, will serve as the primary land location for all exploration activity. It is ground zero at the top of the world.

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