Oil firm plans to drill four Arctic wells

A CITY oil firm has revealed details of its controversial plans to drill in the Arctic.

Cairn Energy plans to drill four wells, although the Greenland government has approved seven exploration sites.

The drilling will cost the firm about 400 million, but Greenpeace described the plans as "reckless".

Under the supervision of a Danish military ship, the Cairn rig is being moved into place in Greenland waters to begin drilling later this year.

Campaigners from Greenpeace tried to disrupt Cairn's drilling plans last year. The group said it had obtained documents from the UK Government that highlighted the difficulties of cleaning up an oil spill.

Cairn drilled three exploration wells in 2010 in the Arctic, which experts predict could become the next major oil producing region, with reserves of about 20 billion barrels.