Norway is taking a phased development approach as it tries to create sustainable Arctic offshore oil and gas projects in the Barents Sea, its energy minister said on Nov. 9.
The first well was drilled there more than 30 years ago, and the first oil discovery came soon after, Ola Borten Moe said during a presentation at the Brookings Institution. "However, we needed to enter a new millennium before development could start," he added.
"During the last decade we have been on a very positive trend," Moe said. "Through a thorough process involving all stakeholders we established broad consensus about establishing the Barents Sea as a new petroleum province on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. In the planning process, important elements like integrated management plans are introduced and impact assessments are carried out."
It's important to base its Arctic strategy on the best available knowledge, he emphasized. "It has never been our policy to open all areas of the continental shelf at once," Moe said. "We have applied a step-wise approach. This will also be the case in the future."
He noted that while interest is high, developing these resources will take considerable time. "Petroleum activities in this part of the Arctic are demanding—commercially, environmentally, technically, and climactically," he said.
Handling these challenges will require knowledge, creativity, and innovative skills from the petroleum industry, he indicated. Moe said the industry has met difficult challenges before, and he expects it will do so again—particularly since warmer Gulf Stream waters off Norway significantly reduce iceberg problems occurring elsewhere in the Arctic offshore.
No more 'Macondos'
"The industry must deliver safe and responsible operations every day," he declared. "The Macondo accident was a wakeup call. The likelihood of such accidents ever happening again is reduced considerably through joint industry efforts and requirements by public authorities. Accidents on the scale of Macondo must be avoided in the future. No one of us can afford something like that happening again."
As governments and the industry work to develop and apply the best technology, Moe said the scientific community also needs to be involved. Consequently, he is establishing an Arctic Research & Competence Center to focus on petroleum-related challenges that will collaborate with leading research communities in Norway and abroad.
He also said Norway's decision in the 1970s to ban natural gas flaring led to its having Europe's largest offshore gathering system, supplying 20% of Europe's gas. "Norway is not North Dakota, but I felt a very strong feeling there that flaring gas is a waste of resources that would be enough to heat their state each year," Moe said.
