Russia has reportedly found around 511 billion barrels of oil, much of it in UK waters.
Reserves totalling around 10 times the North Sea's entire 50-year output have been reported to Moscow by Russian research ships, according to evidence given to the Commons Environment Audit Committee (EAC) last week.
The oil and gas reserves have been found in the Antarctic, an area which is meant to be protected by the 1959 Antarctic Treaty that bans any mineral or oil developments.
A junior minister told the EAC the department has decided to trust Russian assurances that it was just conducting scientific research.
David Rutley said: "Russia has recently reaffirmed its commitment to the key elements of the treaty."
Read more here.
FTSE 100
The UK's flagship share index, the FTSE 100, was up 10-points at 8,444 shortly after opening this morning.
Brent crude oil futures were up 0.04%, trading at $82.82 a barrel.
Companies reporting today
- Diploma - Q2 Results
- Victrex - Q2 Results