The challenge of developing heavy oil sustainably and profitably is equivalent to the hunt for Arctic oil, delegates at an international conference in Aberdeen were told yesterday.
Senior Statoil boss Karl Johnny Hersvik said the sector’s major challenges included high CO emissions and public perceptions, especially around oil sands.
However, he added that the industry could make heavy-oil exploitation greener and more profitable through innovation and technology development.
Mr Hersvik was speaking at the World Heavy Oil congress in the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
The senior vice-president for research and development, technology, projects and drilling at Statoil, said: “Developing heavy oil in a more sustainable and profitable manner is one of the biggest challenges in the industry at the moment, equal to the search for Arctic oil.
“But in 10 years I believe the profitability and sustainability will have multiplied. In my eyes this is an industry with the capability, resources and drive to crack any obstacle.”
Heavy oil is more difficult to produce because of its thick, sticky consistency
Statoil is leading the development of two major North Sea heavy-oil projects – Mariner and Bressay – which are due to be run out of Aberdeen bases, creating as many as 1,000 jobs.
These, plus development of the nearby Bentley and Kraken fields build on early work developing less-heavy reserves in the 1990s, such as Chevron’s Captain field.
Although heavy-oil development is still at an early stage in the UK, Andrew Carr, head of field development and production at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said this was changing.
He added: “The success of Captain and recent high oil prices has focused interest on some of the undeveloped discoveries in the North Sea.”
But Mr Carr said the industry needed to work fast and enhanced oil recovery techniques had to be developed, adding: “The final challenge is marketing the oil. Despite the high density of our UK continental shelf oil there are markets for it.”
The congress, attended by about 1,000 delegates from all over the world, continues until tomorrow.