TECHNOLOGY and operational challenges posed by the Arctic are not as complex and demanding as previously believed, the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority has claimed.
Fin Carlsen, a director of supervision at PSA, said of just-published research findings: “It means that we now have a factual basis for further follow-up of activities in the Arctic and the high north.
“We’ve long seen at the PSA that discussions on operations in our northernmost and cold waters usually began with a debate on what’s known or not known about conditions and challenges there.
“We accordingly took the decision to bring together current knowledge held by the industry, the authorities, and research institutes.
“The result is positive, with the report showing that much has been learned on this subject in Norway.”
Carlsen said there were many relevant industry projects already in planning or being implemented.
However, he indicated that the research findings will provide a good basis for future planning of Norwegian oil and gas activity in the Arctic, including regulatory development and expertise acquisition. And a preventative approach to pollution was advocated.
He said too that the PSA’s findings were certain to be of interest to all companies seeking resources in territorial waters to the north.
In essence, technological and safety challenges related to petroleum operations in the high north have traditionally been presented as very special, but the PSA claims that this is not necessarily the case after all.
Kjell Gunnar Dorum, a member of the PSA’s Arctic project team said of the research; “The report helps to slay that myth. From a safety perspective, activity in these areas largely involves well-known issues.
“This report once again clearly illustrates the diversity of Norway’s far northern regions. The picture in these areas is complex, not least in relation to climatic variables.
“That’s not a new observation, but it underlines the need to take account of these differences when planning far northern activities.”
The PSA carried out this latest research programme in collaboration with the University of Stavanger and its International Research Institute of Stavanger (IRIS).
The authority will review and assess the findings and the proposition they pose.
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