Oil companies looking for new resources are willing to pay top dollar to access as yet unexploited areas, as they did for ultra-deep offshore fields in the Canadian Far North, or in sub-arctic regions such as Snovhit in Norway or Stockman in Russia. The Chukchi Sea deposits of Alaska are full of promise in this respect. Nearly 15 billion barrels of recoverable oil reserves and more than 2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas are believed to be located in this area. Despite opposition from environmental associations, the U.S. administration granted hundreds of exploration permits in February.