Two large ships have been on a seismic cruise in the Arctic this summer. 30.000 square kilometers have been mapped to find more oil, although the areas have not been opened for petroleum activities. The findings are now being investigated. 2013 will be the year when the oil boom takes off in the north: It can be opened up to look for oil all the way to the North Pole.
(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
Resource Hunting. Night to 10. August 2012: On the mainland in Norway there are still school holidays, concerts and political games about new green climate measures in "the world's best and richest countries".
At the same time, 1000 kilometers from the North Cape – and 1500 kilometers from the capital Oslo, but a third so far from Iceland: On the protected volcanic island of Jan Mayen, the Bahamas-registered seismic vessel "Nordic Explorer" completes its exploration of Norway's westernmost land in the High North. In the gloom and darkness of the night, no one registers the ship, which will ensure new large oil revenues for the country's inhabitants.
There are no people living on Jan Mayen either. Only the birds see the ship.
Facsimile: New Time August 24th.
Together with the Bergen-registered vessel "Artemis Atlantic", "Nordic Explorer" has collected data from 30.000 square kilometers this summer. The northern areas are currently characterized by massive exploration efforts. Oil is the new coal and gold in the northern areas. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is behind.
- When it comes to the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate's seismic collection this summer, which you refer to here, it is correct that the seismic is collected in areas that are not open for petroleum activities.
This is stated by the press contact in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, Eldbjørg Vaage Melberg, to Ny Tid. For the directorate thinks beyond what the Storting has formally opened up for. The hope for the oil industry is to drill for oil both around Jan Mayen, Svalbard and all the way along the new border with Russia in the Barents Sea.
And the oil loan goes like a grease: “The collection has gone beyond all expectation. We have had high production and no disruptions. ”This is stated by Sissel Eriksen, Director of Exploration in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), in a press release on 16 August.
New areas
And the search continues this fall, when the Storting has asked for it: "Artemis Atlantic" ends its seismic cruise only in mid-October.
Then the ship has been twice in the new area "Barents Sea southeast", as well as off the coast of Nordland.
- These searches were made on behalf of the Storting, which wants more knowledge about possible petroleum resources in the areas, says press contact Melberg in the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate, to Ny Tid.
Vaage Melberg adds that only the NPD has the opportunity to collect seismic data in areas that are not open to petroleum activities.
She points to maps of the area published in their resource report:
- You can see the shaded area around Jan Mayen and the far east of the Barents Sea south – in both of these areas there is collective seismic. The same applies to the easternmost part of the pink area in the Barents Sea north. This is where seismic is being collected now – which will end in mid-October, says Vaage Melberg.
This means that from August to mid-October, seismic collects in areas that are colored pink-red on the maps, areas that are categorized as "not open for petroleum activities".
petroleum Optimism
Just before the summer holidays, Minister of Oil and Energy Ola Borten Moe (Sp) invited the world's oil peaks to the conference "Arctic Energy Agenda" in Trondheim.
On June 26, Borten Moe met with ministers from the USA, Canada, New Zealand and Iceland. Representatives from governments in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and Israel were also present. So were oil peaks from companies like Conoco Phillips, Statoil, Exxon Mobil, BP and Gazprom NEFT.
The main message was the minister's optimism for oil and gas extraction in the north: “Petroleum operations are heading north across all coastal states in the Arctic. Interest in oil and gas activity in the area has never been greater, ”said Borten Moe.
Borten Moe also presented the map Ny Tid i dag trykker (pp. 20-22). Here he told his international guests point by point how the "green area" is accessible for petroleum activities. That the yellow areas have special schemes. That there are open processes in the south-east Barents Sea and around the island of Jan Mayen. While in the northeastern part of the Norwegian Sea is in a phase of knowledge gathering.
“We are making good progress in our ongoing opening processes. My plan is to submit a proposal to open these areas for petroleum activities to the Storting in the spring of 2013, ”Borten Moe told the Assembly.
On the same day, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy announced 72 exploration blocks in the Barents Sea, as well as 14 blocks in the Norwegian Sea. "The announcement forms the basis for the granting of new production licenses before the summer of 2013," the ministry reported.
And the Sp Minister for State said:
“We are now experiencing record interest in the Barents Sea. With 72 out of a total of 86 advertised blocks, the Barents Sea stands as the sea of opportunity in the 22nd licensing round. Here we have had very uplifting exploration results, and I am now giving the industry access to new areas in connection with these discoveries, ”said Oil and Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe.
A lot of new research
With this, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is leading one of many exploration projects in Norway's northernmost waters. In particular, the focus is on the newest area of all: the "Barents Sea southeast" is the old "gray zone" that could become the possible black gold zone.
Since the signing of the dividing agreement with Russia in the summer of 2011, things have been going fast when it comes to Norway's new sea area in the Barents Sea southeast.
A total of 23 external and internal studies are currently underway in the same area:
Multiconsult investigates Infrastructure and logistics. Det Norske Veritas investigates oil operation modeling, oil spill protection and the risk of emergency discharge.
Akvaplan-niva research firm is investigating the possible coexistence of petroleum activities with fisheries and aquaculture. While the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate is investigating, among other things, various scenarios for petroleum activities.
Nothing is thus left to chance when the Norwegian resource hunt continues in the Arctic. And it's not just Norway exploring.
Canada, Russia, the United States and Denmark (Greenland) are all in possession of Arctic coastal areas. According to a report prepared earlier this year by the British think tank Chatham House, investments of more than NOK 600 billion are expected in the Arctic over the next ten years.
“The Arctic is a rapidly changing region. Access to some areas, especially the coastal areas of interest to oil and gas companies, is expected to increase due to climate change and improved technology. ”
This was stated by Charles Emmerson, senior researcher at Chatham House's energy, environment and development program, in an interview with insurance giant Lloyds recently.
Emmerson believes that as a consequence of climate change, high oil prices and concerns about exclusion from some parts of the world, the Arctic is increasingly becoming an oil region for some companies and countries.
"The Arctic has become a zone for economic and strategic opportunities," says Emmerson. Just ask those who were aboard the "Nordic Explorer". ■
This is the introduction to the main issue in the weekly magazine Ny Tid's issue 30. 24.08.2012. Read more in this week's issue, on sale in stores across the country. Get the edition sent for free by subscribing (Abo@nytid.no)or click here.
