Although Norway’s oil industry is accustomed to operating in cold climates, a broader orientation towards the far north requires it to think along more integrated lines.
That applies naturally to the choice of sustainable solutions, but also in a more technological and research-based context. From a technological perspective, the principal focus in offshore field development will be largely on producing hydrocarbons from deep water and in cold climates.
Challenges for oil spill response in the far north relate primarily to ice-covered waters, cold and darkness in the winter months and limited access to clean-up resources. Our goal is that the response to oil spills will be robust, efficient and well-adapted to local conditions. As mentioned in our sustainability report for 2006, we participate actively in a number of research and development projects to strengthen oil spill response off northern Norway and in ice-infested international waters.
We are actively involved as one of seven international oil companies in managing and administering a research project which aims to learn more about the way oil spreads under different ice conditions. Other targets include improvements to existing oil spill protection technology and development of new solutions tailored to operations in ice and cold.
A number of studies were performed in 2007, including:
- the efficiency of various dispersants under Arctic conditions, and development of a vessel-mounted application system
- the efficiency of various oil skimmers under Arctic conditions in ocean basin studies, with subsequent modifications to boost effectiveness and suitability for operations in ice and cold
- the efficiency of in-situ burning as a pollution prevention technology, covering oil type, oil film thickness and so forth.
The last of these covered laboratory experiments and field trials in Svalbard, while a surfactant was also tested under various conditions. This substances cause oil to congeal into thicker oil slicks which burns more effectively. Plans call for large-scale tests to be pursued as field trials in 2008.
We are also playing an active role in strengthening oil spill protection in Norway’s Arctic region. This has been done in close cooperation with Eni Norge as operator for the Goliat oil field in the Barents Sea. A number of projects are being pursued in close dialogue with the industry and various government agencies:
- detection and monitoring of oil from ships at night
- supplier seminar to encourage good R& D projects
- learning more about oil pollution in coastal zones
- studying methods which can provide an alternative to traditional mechanical collection, including the use of air bubbles as an alternative to oil booms
- further development of chemical and biological techniques for treating oil on the beach as a supplement to existing mechanical methods.
In connection with the last of these, an oil spill from the m/v Server cargo vessel off Norway during 2007 was utilised to test chemical methods for beach cleaning.
Work on developing a standard test procedure for chemical beach cleaners will continue in 2008.
