STATOILHYDRO is preparing for fresh operations in the Arctic and is planning a new drillship tailored to Arctic conditions which can be employed for exploration and development drilling in the northern Barents Sea.
The Norwegian major unveiled the concept under consideration at the Arctic Frontier Conference in Tromso, Norway.
Already, it has committed more than $100million to developing new Arctic capability technologies, including custom components for the new ice-class drillship.
And considerable emphasis is being given to the aggregation of data on Arctic challenges, which are judged formidable.
The proposed drillship is planned to be able to cope with difficult ice conditions encountered in the northern Barents Sea, where it is sometimes necessary to effect a rapid change in the vessel position.
This suggests that the design will draw heavily on icebreaker design work.
In addition, the vessel would also have larger storage capacity than is the norm.
Trude Sundset, a StatoilHydro environment and climate director, said that the company was prepared to meet the challenges in the Arctic, including ice and severely cold temperatures, but that there were no physical limitations to pressing farther north.