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Statoil assessing Chukchi Sea seismic Anticipates deciding by the middle of 2012 on drilling and meantime is assessing possible drilling sites, starting permitting Alan Bailey Petroleum News
Norwegian oil major Statoil is still figuring out its continuing plans for Chukchi Sea exploration, determining the resources it needs and deciding on the timing of any exploration drilling, Lars Sunde, the head of Statoil Exploration Alaska’s Anchorage office, told Petroleum News Sept. 7. The company now has the final results from the 3-D seismic survey that it carried out in its Chukchi Sea leases in the fall of 2010 and is assessing these results, anticipating a drilling decision by the middle of 2012, Sunde said.
The company has identified two to three prospects from the seismic and is assessing those in detail, having already named two of the prospects Augustine and Amundsen. The prospects lie about 100 miles offshore, with the village of Wainwright being the closest point on the Chukchi Sea coast.
Drill site evaluation During this year’s Arctic open water season Statoil has been evaluating some potential drill sites on its prospects, with Gardline Marine Sciences conducting some shallow seismic surveys using the M/V Duke, looking for shallow drilling hazards, and with Fugro Synergy doing shallow coring to test the characteristics of the seabed.
There have been no ice-related delays to this year’s work program in the Chukchi Sea, and Statoil’s permits for the work came through in time, Sunde said.
“The (shallow) seismic is going well and we expect to complete this work in about two to three weeks,” he said. “And the geotechnical coring just started this week and it’s expected to be completed by the end of the month if the weather cooperates.”
A preliminary evaluation of the shallow seismic indicates that there are no hazards in the prospective drilling sites.
A decision on the timing of any drilling by Statoil in its own leases will come as part of the company’s overall drilling decision expected in 2012. Meantime, the company is starting work on permitting for eventual drilling, Sunde said.
Anticipates clarity Litigation and appeals over the 2008 Chukchi Sea lease sale and the permitting of Shell’s planned Chukchi Sea drilling have led to uncertainty over the regulatory situation for Chukchi Sea exploration. However, as Shell and ConocoPhillips move towards drilling in the Chukchi, Sunde expects the regulatory fog to dissipate, with greater regulatory clarity and maturity emerging before Statoil is ready to start its drilling operations. And so far the litigation over Chukchi Sea exploration has not delayed Statoil’s plans: The company has not been planning to drill in 2012 or 2013 and has sufficient time remaining on its leases to do the work that it intends to carry out, Sunde said.
“We will work with the agencies to help provide clarity if we can. … We believe that adds value to everyone involved,” he said.
Communication & cooperation Success in a region such as the Chukchi Sea requires communication and cooperation with all stakeholders in the region, Sunde said. For example, Statoil has met with people from North Slope communities to discuss the company’s plans.
“We have engaged in public meetings with the villages of the North Slope and we will continue to do so going forward,” Sunde said, adding that villagers have challenged Statoil on various issues associated with oil exploration, with possible conflicting interests between industry and subsistence activities being of particular concern.
“This has been discussed with the villages and we appreciate their concerns,” Sunde said. “It’s important and we will have to continue to talk to the villages over these issues and we will do so in the future.”
Statoil is planning a series of meetings on the North Slope, probably around October and November, to review the results of its 2011 field season and to report to the villages on findings such as marine mammal observations, he said.
Zero harmful discharge Looking further ahead, with oil spill risks perhaps being many people’s biggest single concern when it comes to drilling on the Arctic outer continental shelf, Statoil feels confident that it can evaluate and manage the risks associated with each of its prospects. Statoil employs a zero harmful discharge philosophy in all of its worldwide operations, achieving its zero harm goals through actions such as minimizing its operational footprint, conducting effective planning and using materials that are environmentally friendly, Sunde said.
In addition to complying with its own internal standard of no harmful discharges into the sea, Statoil will ensure that it is working within U.S. regulations for environmental protection, Sunde said.
And Statoil is used to the challenges of working in remote regions, he said.
“We have drilled 64 4wells in the Barents Sea … and have not had any accidents which would be in conflict with the zero harmful discharge criteria,” Sunde said. “I think that experience is something we can bring to the table when we’re planning our work in the Chukchi Sea.”
Cooperative approach Much of the cost of drilling in the Chukchi Sea will likely be associated with logistical support for the drilling operation and the provision of oil spill response capabilities, rather than with the drilling itself, Sunde said.
So Statoil sees benefit in cooperation between companies when it comes to operating in such a challenging and remote region. There is much scope, for example, for coordination between all companies engaged in Chukchi Sea exploration when it comes to oil spill contingency planning, sharing oil spill response resources and providing industry-wide oil spill response capabilities, he said.
Currently, Statoil is participating with Shell and ConocoPhillips in a continuing Chukchi Sea environmental monitoring program, establishing environmental baseline data through, for example, the deployment of offshore acoustic recorders to monitor sounds from marine mammals. Some of the recording devices are situated in the area of Statoil’s leases, and in a region to the north of the leases. The recorders have been in operation this year, and some will continue in operation over the coming winter.
“That’s an important part of our Arctic research program,” Sunde said.
Moving North program Statoil’s research and development group in Norway is also progressing a “moving north” research program, focusing on a variety of topics associated with Arctic oil and gas exploration and development. Those topics include issues associated with oil spills in ice and the gathering of data about the ocean. Although the moving north program is geared towards Arctic exploration and development in general, including Statoil’s operations in the Barents Sea, the findings from the program will be applicable in the Alaska Arctic. Statoil is itself funding some of the research, while some research involves partnerships between Statoil and other businesses in the oil industry, Sunde said.
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