Making oil while the ice still melts

This little gem of audacious futility has just popped up on the very excellent Frog Blog
According to a Weekend Worldwatch documentary on Sunday morning, states bordering the arctic sea are racing to lay claim to large tracts of the sea. The reason being that global warming is melting ice in the area and thus making it much easier to explore. And what they want to go exploring for is more oil and gas.