Development of oil and gas resources in the Arctic has been happening since the nineteenth century. Large-scale projects were first developed in the 1960s in Russia (Komi Republic and Nenets Autonomous Okrug) and in the 1970s in Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay. Interest and investment in oil and gas in the Arctic has waxed and waned over the years, driven by global prices, domestic policy, and availability of oil and gas deposits in other regions. In the past two decades, those with an eye on Arctic trends observed a cycle of interest, investment, and withdrawal. Some predict that cheaper oil and gas reserves elsewhere will continue to make investment in Arctic sources prohibitive, or that the desire to limit global warming to 2 degrees will compel us to leave Arctic deposits in the ground. Others suggest that when the price of oil rises, oil and gas companies will once again turn to Arctic offshore deposits. Across the spectrum of possibilities, the hiatus of investment in the Arctic has led to new policy frameworks to mitigate risks posed by offshore development and transportation. Arctic oil extraction is highly political, but whether or not it is economical remains an important question.