The Arctic Council, a forum for climate issues and environmental protection, agreed on close and increased cooperation in carrying out research on the Arctic and identified a number of measures, including a binding guideline for ship operation and revising the guidelines for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic.

Arctic nations agreed on Wednesday to crack down on soot that is darkening ice around the North Pole and hastening a thaw that they also blamed on global warming.

A thaw of Arctic ice will open "plenty of opportunities" in oil and gas exploration and shipping even though the overall impact of global warming will be damaging for the region, Norway's Foreign Minister said.

An appeals court on Friday struck down the Bush administration's five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing, saying it was put into effect without proper environmental review.

The US Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ordered the Interior Department to rewrite the 2007-2012 plan, which was challenged by a coalition of environmental groups and Alaska Natives.

Pakistan and China are set to sign memorandum of understanding (MoU) to enter into joint venture for oil and gas exploration. The MoU will be signed by Advisor to Prime Minister on Petroleum and Natural Resources Dr Asim Hussain, who left here for China on Friday.

A federal appeals court ruled that the Bush administration did not properly study the environmental impact of expanding oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast and canceled a program to find new reserves.

Norway became on Wednesday the first Arctic state to agree limits to its northern seabed, stopping short of the North Pole in a regional territorial scramble driven partly by hopes of finding oil and gas.

Norway's newly defined continental shelf covers 235,000 sq kms (90,740 sq miles), or three-quarters the size of mainland Norway, Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.

The 13th National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan meeting here on Wednesday reviewed the level of preparedness of various agencies to deal with oil spill disasters.

US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar heard hours of Alaskans' opinions about drilling for oil and gas off their state's shores and came away on Tuesday promising a plan to allow development while accounting for environmental risks.

New Delhi: India launched its biggest-ever auction of oil and gas assets on Thursday, offering 70 exploration blocks, as it seeks to attract investors at a time of slumping global oil demand during the economic downturn. India offered 24 deepwater blocks, 28 shallow water blocks and 18 on-land blocks, with the blocks being distributed throughout the country.