Frontier Energy, Spring 2017

OIL, GAS & SHIPPING IN THE ARCTIC AND ICE-AFFECTED REGIONS www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017

Canada

New developments as Hebron heads offshore

POLAR RESEARCH Two new vessels launched

ICE MONITOR Keep hulls safe

Marine emergencies Safety & survival in polar waters

Iceberg tracking

Watching for giant hazards

+ NEWS • RESEARCH • ICE BREAKING • FIRE • COMMS

T N E GS V E TIN S LI

REDUCE THE RISK OF FAILURE, ACCURATELY MEASURE THE PROPERTIES OF

PERMAFROST If you want to know how AskFugro.com

CONTENTS

10

22

18

12 Spring 2017

OIL, GAS & SHIPPING IN THE ARCTIC AND ICE-AFFECTED REGIONS www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017

Canada

New developments as Hebron heads offshore

IN THIS ISSUE

POLAR RESEARCH Two new vessels launched

ICE MONITOR Keep hulls safe

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Marine emergencies Safety & survival in polar waters

Iceberg tracking

Features

Watching for giant hazards

+ NEWS • RESEARCH • ICE BREAKING • FIRE • COMMS

T EN GS EV TIN LIS

FE On the cover The Hebron

FE 06

CANADA The upstream sector of offshore east coast Canada is about to welcome the huge Hebron field to its ranks. The regional economy needs a boost, with oil prices still volatile

FE 07

CANADA In May 2017, the giant Hebron platform operated by ExxonMobil

FE 12

ICE RESEARCH The British government has financed a new research

begins its offshore journey and life. What can we expect?

platform heads offshore east coast

Regulars

vessel which is due to make its debut trip this year. The Sir David Attenborough is a state-of-the-art polar research vessel

Canada, April 2017

14 POLAR VESSEL As polar regions deal with the impact of climate change, it’s vital that scientific, environmental and geological research is done to understand better this unchartered territory. The newly launched BAP Carrasco vessel will generate this research FE 15

ICEBERG MODELLING German researchers have now succeeded in modelling how Antarctic icebergs drift through the Southern Ocean, and in identifying the physical factors behind their movement and their melting.

16 SEISMIC Seismic activity in the Barents Sea is on an upward climb, notably Russian and Norwegian authorities agreeing an official method of sharing seismic data collection in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

04 NEWS Russian oil group Rosneft has started exploration drilling in the northernmost part of the Russian Arctic shelf: Spanish energy group Repsol and partner Armstrong Energy have made the largest US onshore conventional hydrocarbons discovery in 30 years: Russian oil giant LUKOIL has developed a new technique to respond to oil spills in the Arctic waters: Following two years of US leadership the chairmanship of the increasingly influential Arctic Council is to be taken over by Finland

18 REMOTE COMMUNICATIONS Increased traffic on transpolar shipping routes expected in the near future, could prove a big challenge for the communications infrastructure FE 20

ICE MANAGEMENT Newly developed state of the art systems will monitor

Cover: Shutterstock

hull loads with optical sensors installed on the steel structures of vessels

21 ARCTIC EXPLORER Named after a famous Russian Arctic explorer of the mid 1800s, the Gennadiy Nevelskoy is state of the art Russian-built icebreaker FE 22

26 INSIGHT Dealing with emergencies in ice-affected waters involving fire is an issue that research in Denmark aims to understand and mitigate

OFFSHORE RESCUE Emergency incidents involving an oil or gas installation, fishing vessel or cruise liner that results in an evacuation of many people, perhaps thousands into survival suits to lifeboats, a fast rescue is vital to ensure saving lives www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 01

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EDITOR’S LETTER

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“Arctic politics, technologies and organisations are all undergoing rapid change”

www.frontierenergy.info Editor Bruce McMichael editor@frontierenergy.info

Publisher Stephen Habermel publisher@frontierenergy.info Design & Layout Nick Blaxill

Printed in the UK. ISSN 2047-3702 Published by Renaissance Media Ltd, c/o Maynard Heady LLP, Matrix House, 12-16 Lionel Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS8 9DE. Registered in England & Wales.

Company number 5850675.

Over the past months, even years, there has been lots of confusion around whether upstream operations will ever take place within the Arctic region. To be sure, the fall in the oil prices and subsequent mini peaks and troughs have made taking long-term investment decisions ever more problematical than in so-called normal times.

The huge investment in fracking across North America and increasing Europe and Asia has subtly shifted the global oil paradigm, at least according to one analyst at the investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Yes, the projects are immensely complex, expensive projects like the Arctic we think can move too high on the cost curve to be economically doable, but in the medium term ‘this new oil order as represented by a much shorter and cheaper production cycle driven by the US,’ will need to be addressed.

Against this background, the politics of the Arctic are rapidly taking shape with Russia leading the way with its significant investment in commercial logistics from pipelines to ports and ice-class support vessels and in the military and security sphere. Whatever one’s politics, climates are changing and predictions suggest that as early as 2040 a significant chunk of the Arctic Ocean will melt opening up waters to year round energy production and shipping, both commercial and leisure.

In this issue we take a look at how the thorny issue of planning for and undertaking search and rescue operations in the remote places of the Arctic where the seas are bitterly cold and invariably stormy and the nights long and dark (Pg 22-25). Research into new equipment and management processes are underway and much thought is being properly devoted into how to protect the precious environment on both land, on and below the ice-capped seas and for the indigenous peoples of the Arctic.

The United States, which took on the two-year rotating chairmanship of the eight-nation Arctic Council in 2015, is not yet fully engaged with the Arctic and is lagging its council members (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden) in developing technology and policies to deal with the issue.

This needs careful watching, as Finland takes on the chairmanship of the Council this May. Arctic politics, technologies and organisations are all undergoing rapid change; it’s a fascinating time to be involved.

Every May, tens of thousands of engineers, designers, managers, politicians and the students representing the next generation of oil men and women will descend on sprawling NRG Park in Houston, Texas for the influential Offshore Technology Conference.

The OTC brand has been launched across other, more specific regions including the biannual Arctic Technology Conference, to be held in the Autumn of 2018 in Houston; OTC Asia (March 2018), and OTC Brazil (October 2017).

OTC2017 will draw from all these markets and offer a distillation and state of the market of the research, design and implementation of cutting edge upstream engineering and technology. There’s plenty at this year’s event to catch the eye of those interested in the Arctic and ice-affected exploration and development from panel discussions about ‘Offshore Energy Policies: Harnessing the Full Potential of America’s Offshore’ to ‘Cost Reduction in Offshore Areas: A New Operator Led Framework for Delivering Focused Research and Development’ and ‘Seismic Processing’ and a working breakfast from the ‘Center for Offshore Safety: Managing the Human Side of Safety – Strengthening Offshore Safety Culture.’

In the exhibition itself, there are hundreds of stands organised by the organisations such as the Arctic University of Norway in Tromso, the country’s third largest and the world’s northernmost university.

The increasing global importance of the Arctic makes climate change, exploitation of Arctic resources and environmental threats special challenges for our political and business leaders. www.otcnet.org

Canadian Correspondent Andrew Safer

© 2017 All material strictly copyright, all rights to editorial content are reserved. Reproduction without permission from the publisher is prohibited. The views expressed in Frontier Energy do not always represent those of the publishers. Every care is taken in compiling the contents, but the publishers assume no responsibility for any damage, loss. The publisher, Renaissance Media, assumes no responsibility, or liability for unsolicited material, nor responsibility for the content of any advertisement, particularly infringements of copyrights, trademarks, intellectual property rights and patents, nor liability for misrepresentations, false or misleading statements and illustrations. These are the sole responsibility of the advertiser.

FRAM*

Bruce McMichael, Editor

*

Fram is not only the Norwegian word for ‘Forward’, it is also the name of the one of the first ice-strengthened and most famous polar exploration vessels of the late 1800s and early twentieth century. It was captained by Norwegian explorer, Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Sharing his polar travel experiences with fellow adventurers and scientists, his technology innovations in equipment and clothing influenced a generation of subsequent Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. The word encapsulates what we aim to bring you with the magazine – a forward looking guide to the future of oil, gas and shipping activities in the Arctic and other ice-affected regions while keeping environmental protection and safety at the heart of operations.

Get connected!

Follow us at www.twitter.com/frontierenergy for the latest news and comment ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 03

NEWS

IN NUMBERS

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150

Number of processing modules being shipped from Zeebrugge to Yamal LNG

A new scientific research vessel has been launched by the British government to study the polar regions. (Full story, page 12) ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Russia spuds northern most well Russian oil group Rosneft has started exploration drilling in the northernmost part of the Russian Arctic shelf. Work on the Tsentralno-Olginskaya-1 well is ongoing on the Khatangsky license area.

Rosneft chief executive Igor Sechin said the project included 21 linear kilometres of seismic studies that revealed the existence of 114 promising oil and gas-bearing structures. Preliminary estimates suggest that the Laptev Sea’s total potential geological resources could come to 9.5 billion tonnes of oil equivalent.

There are no seaports on the Khara-Tumus peninsula and the navigation period in this area lasts no longer than two months a year. However, in 2016, during the summer navigation, more than 8,000 tonnes of cargo were delivered from the sea port of Arkhangelsk to the drilling site. Having covered the distance of 3,600 kilometers across the areas of the White Sea, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea, two ice class cargo vessels delivered the drilling rig, equipment and materials for drilling, and accommodation modules. The drilling will be performed by RN-Burenie – Rosneft’s in-house service company.

China seeks greater Arctic role China is seeking ways to contribute more to the upstream development of the Arctic especially across the fields of infrastructure and scientific research.

“Now that our diplomatic and political relations have been normalized, I am confident that we will enjoy even closer cooperation. The fact that China is looking to the High North is positive. It gives us a shared platform to build further on,” Norway Prime Minister Erna Solberg said, following an April meeting between the two countries.

Solberg made the remarks at the China-Norway Dialogue on Changes in the Arctic and International Cooperation in Shanghai.

Changes in the Arctic directly affect China, especially at sea level as Arctic glaciers and the Greenland ice sheet melt. Arctic warming may also open new sea routes between East Asia and North America and Europe, Yang Huigen, director of Polar Research Institute of China, said.

Yang Jian, vice president of the Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, told local media that China has been playing an important role in Arctic affairs.

04 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

20m

31

Value of budget in Norwegian Krone for current SARiNOR project

Potential number for new ships in Norwegian ship registries, according to Norwegian Shipowners’ Association

Repsol makes huge oil discovery onshore Alaska Spanish energy group Repsol and partner Armstrong Energy Anchorage, Alaska hoping have made the largest US for more discoveries onshore conventional hydrocarbons discovery in 30 years. The Horseshoe - 1 and 1A wells drilled during the 2016 – 17 winter campaign confirm the Nanushuk playas a significant emerging play in Alaska’s North Slope.

The contingent resources identified with the existing data in Repsol and Armstrong’s blocks in the Nanushuk play in Alaska could amount to 1.2billion barrels of recoverable light oil.

Repsol has been exploring Alaska since 2008, and since 2011 the company has drilled multiple consecutive discoveries on the North Slope along with Armstrong.

Successive campaigns in the area have added significant new potential to what was previously viewed as a mature basin. Additionally Alaska has significant infrastructure which allows new resources to be developed more efficiently.

Repsol holds a 25% working interest in the Horseshoe discovery and a 49% working interest in the Pikka Unit. Armstrong holds the remaining working interest and is currently the operator. /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

LUKOIL developing new oil spill technology Russian oil giant LUKOIL has developed a new technique to respond to oil spills in the Arctic waters. The new multi-patented technology is based on the use of biosorbents with cold-resistant microbial strains at contaminated salt and fresh waters.

Pilot testing proved self-destructing biosorbents as the most efficient tool of emergency oil spill response in north latitudes, where low temperatures and ice conditions make conventional oil containment and recovery methods ineffective.

As soon as the new oil spill response technique is approved through the state environmental expert review, it will be integrated across the company's facilities and will become an important component of LUKOIL's biodiversity conservation plan, said the company.

NEWS

72 – 75

Degrees north, which at present satellite communications systems can only offer limited performance and capacity

90%

80%

Area of Norwegian sea areas to the north of the country

Amount of current Arctic activity taking place in the Norwegian sector

30

35

Percentage of global polar bear numbers are projected to decline by 2050

Days vessels take crossing the Northern Sea Route from Europe to Asia, 13 fewer than sailing via the Suez Canal

1.5bn

Canadian Dollars allocated in Budget 2017 to fund its national Oceans Protection Plan

Russia expands its Arctic presence, says Medvedev Russia continues to expand its presence in the Arctic, to develop the continental shelf and mineral deposits and protect its national interests in this region, claims citing Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

“We continue to expand Russia's presence in the Arctic, to develop the continental shelf and new deposits of strategic metals and other mineral resources, build the social and transport infrastructure, including the Northern Sea Route, the shortest shipping lane between European and Asian ports. And, of course, we protect other Russian

interests,” Medvedev told Arctic development conference delegates.

He said that in 2014, the government approved a program for Arctic socioeconomic development until 2020, although noted that this document is analytical and is not sufficient for developing this Russian region.

“The Ministry of Economic Development has drafted a revised program that contains specific objectives and, most importantly, the tools to achieve them, including the financial tools,” Medvedev said.

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Arctic Council officials meet in Juneau, Alaska

Arctic Council Secretariat / Linnea Nordström

Finland takes on Arctic Council chair Following two years of US leadership the chairmanship of the increasingly influential Arctic Council is to be taken over by Finland. Senior officials from the Arctic Council’s eight Member States and six indigenous Permanent Participant organizations will meet in Fairbanks, Alaska this May for a toplevel Ministerial meeting. Finland recently unveiled its program for its 2017-19 Chairmanship which will focus on addressing the effects of climate change and fostering sustainable development with priorities to include environmental protection, meteorological cooperation, connectivity, and education in the Arctic. Also, developing the “Arctic Regional Reception Facilities Plan,” a proposed waste management plan for ship-generated wastes intended to help the Arctic States meet their obligations under the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and standards linked to the new Polar Code will also be on the timetable.

www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 05

EAST COAST CANADA

Hebron hopes for boost in PRODUCTION ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador faces a mixed future, maintaining offshore production volumes and seeks more explorers

F

or east coast Canada, oil and gas output is crucial to the economic health of the region. So, in 2016, crude oil production offshore Newfoundland and Labrador topped 76.7 million barrels, up 22.5% from 62.7 million barrels in 2015 as a result of increased extraction from the huge Hibernia field, operated by US-supermajor ExxonMobil.

However, the province’s Department of Finance’s latest 2017 forecast projects annual oil production to be 70.8 million barrels in 2017, down 7.8% over 2016 with lower production at three of the biggest fields Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose.

Hebron, the province’s fourth stand-alone offshore oil project, is expected to commence production in late 2017, but its predicted output is not yet part of official output estimates.

Following many years of expansion, the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador has contracted in recent years due to several factors, including major project development timelines and a decline in commodity prices.

While overall economic activity will continue to be dampened by the transitioning of the economy from major project construction to production, there are positive developments occurring throughout many sectors of the economy, including offshore oil exploration, aquaculture and tourism.

However, the arrival of French-based supermajor Total as a member of NOIA (Newfoundland and Labrador Oil & Gas Industries Association) is an indication of ongoing development of the region following its transfer of interest in EL1136, located in the Carson Basin. Previously held by ExxonMobil and Suncor at 50 per cent each, the block is now held by the three parties at one-third each.

“Total E&P Canada is the seventh new entrant into our offshore oil & gas industry 06 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

over the past 18 months, joining Navitas, Anadarko, Noble, Hess, Nexen and BP,” says NOIA president & ceo Robert Cadigan. “This speaks volumes about the prospectivity of our basins and clearly indicates the high level of global interest in our offshore.”

Upcoming round Meanwhile, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (CNLOPB) has issued a Call for Bids in the Jeanne d’Arc Region.

Bidding closes in early November for interested parties to submit sealed bids for the parcels offered in Call for Bids NL17-CFB01.

This follows the successful call of bids by C-NLOPB for the Eastern Newfoundland Region and Call for Bids NL16-CFB02 in the Jeanne d’Arc Region, both located in the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area where the value of bids approached C$800m ($500m) in work commitments, the bulk of which was assigned to the eastern Newfoundland. Here operators and investors include BP Canada Energy Group, Hess Canada Oil and Gas, Noble Energy Canada, Nexen Energy and Delek Group (Navitas Petroleum and DKL Investments).

“This [was] one of the most successful land sales in Newfoundland and Labrador’s history. This is especially significant given a year of very disappointing sales globally in 2016,” says Raymond Collins, Chair of Noia’s Board of Directors. “These results demonstrate that the Newfoundland and Labrador deepwater region is a highly sought after investment area for global E&P companies - despite current low oil prices.

Our deepwater basins hold significant potential for future growth in oil and gas exploration, development and production and this is very positive news for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and for the continued growth of the province’s offshore industry.”

Referring to the Canadian oil group Husky, Mr Collins added, “We are also very pleased to see Husky Energy’s commitment to the mature Jeanne d’Arc region. There is no doubt that this basin has served this province very well, but as evidenced by Husky’s interest, there is still opportunity to maximize the area’s remaining resources,” added Mr. Collins.

Many of these developments will be discussed at NOIA’s ‘Major Projects conference’ scheduled for this June in St John’s. FE

MUN creates F&D database Memorial University in St John’s, Newfoundland & Labrador is one of the leading oil and gas research universities in Canada and has recently created The Atlantic Facilities and Research Equipment Database (AFRED). The system seeks to match researchers with available equipment throughout the region aims to link owners with companies seeking to hire specialist equipment.

“This database launch is the culmination of several years of work by Science Atlantic and the AFRED team and advisory group, as well as the numerous contributions by researchers and service providers in the region,” said Dr. Brent Myron, manager of operations, Core Research Equipment and Instrument Training (CREAIT) Network, at Memorial.

EAST COAST CANADA

St John’s, centre of the region’s oil and gas activity

Hebron heads to COMMISSIONING /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

The vast Hebron offshore facility is leaving its Bull Arm construction site on Newfoundland & Labrador for a life in the harsh waters of the Atlantic with icebergs a constant threat over of the winter months

T

he official launch from the yard at Bull Arm fabrication facility, Newfoundland and Labrador of the Hebron oil platform took place in mid-April heading for the giant field offshore the east coast of Canada with first production set for later this year.

The tow-away ceremony was held for the massive production facility, which in late May will leave Trinity Bay for the Hebron oil field, offshore Newfoundland. It is the province’s fourth offshore development, after Hibernia, Terra Nova and White Rose, and comprises the Hebron, West Ben Nevis and Ben Nevis fields.

The field is operated by ExxonMobil, which has a 36% interest in the project. ExxonMobil took control of the project from Chevron in October 2008.

The Hebron oil field is located in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, 350 kilometres southeast of the regional capital, St. John’s. The field was discovered in 1980 and has an estimated 700million barrels of oil reserves.

HEBRON: VITAL STATISTICS Status: In development Discovery: 1981 Project sanction: December 31, 2012 First oil: Scheduled for late 2017 Production life: Estimated 30 years Field location: Hebron is in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin and is located 350 km (217 mi) southeast of St. John’s, NL. It consists of three discovered fields: Hebron, West Ben Nevis and Ben Nevis.

Water depth: 93 m (305 ft) Estimated recoverable oil reserves: 707 million barrels Operator: ExxonMobil Canada Properties Project participants: ExxonMobil Canada Properties – 36% Chevron Canada Resources – 26.7% Suncor Energy – 22.73% Statoil Canada – 9.7% Nalcor Energy – 4.9% Mode of development: GBS supporting drilling, production and accommodation facilities; storage capacity – 1.2 million barrels of crude oil

The project first got the go-ahead on New Year’s Eve of 2012.

The provincial government expects to make more than $10 billion in royalties and other financial benefits over the life of the project.

The entire structure is enormous, at 278 metres high, with a diameter of 130 metres

around the base. It took 132,000 cubic metres of concrete to build it and contains around 40,000 tonnes of rebar. It also has living quarters for 220 people. It will be able to produce 150,000 barrels of oil per day at peak production.

Hebron field operator ExxonMobil said the platform is on schedule to be towed in May, despite sea ice off the coast of the Avalon Peninsula, to the southeast of the island of Newfoundland. As the Hebron GBS and Hibernia sit in a treacherous waters referred to as Iceberg Alley, the developments need protection from icebergs. The Hibernia GBS has a 15m-thick ice belt, which includes a 1.4m-thick external ice wall. The star-shaped ice wall has 16 sharp teeth that distribute the force of an iceberg impact over the surface of the structure.

It’s storage capacity is approximately 1.2 million barrels of crude oil.

Bull Arm construction site preparation work began in late 2011. In October 2012, skirt installation began, marking the official start of GBS construction.

By November 2016, concrete pouring on the GBS was complete and all topsides modules had been assembled at the pier in Bull Arm. Mating of the concrete base and topsides took place at Bull Arm’s deepwater site on December 13 and 14, 2016. Towout and installation of the completed platform at the offshore field is scheduled for 2017, with first oil anticipated later this year.

International engineering and construction group SNC-Lavalin has been awarded a sixyear contract by a partnership Hibernia Management & Development Company Ltd. (HMDC) and ExxonMobil Canada Properties, to provide inspection services for both the Hibernia and Hebron offshore oil production platforms located off Newfoundland and Labrador’s east coast.

SNC-Lavalin has the provided similar inspection services for Hibernia since 1997. *With the Hebron project coming to an end at the Bull Arm fabrication site, local industry and construction workers are asking what the future holds for the facility.

Newfoundland and Labrador Minister of Natural Resources, Siobhan Coady, speaking to the regional parliament, said that as Hebron project coming to a close Nalcor (Nalcor Energy is a provincial energy corporation which is headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador) is being proactive in finding another organisation to fill the void left by Hebron. She says the site is under lease for another year with Exxon-Mobil so Nalcor is searching globally for potential interest in the site and other possible projects to bring jobs to Newfoundland and Labrador.

Coady says Nalcor is gauging interest before opening themselves up to proposals and says selling the site is not out of the question. FE www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 07

EAST COAST CANADA

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BIG DATA FOR

ICY OCEANS ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Big data analytics – examining large amounts of data to find patterns and gain insight – has wrought great change in many sectors over the past decade. However, it’s been revolutionizing risk analysis and operational safety in iceprone regions for much longer

T

he first satellite-borne radar was deployed by NASA in 1978 and since then, new radar capabilities, and new ways to exploit them, have been developed continuously. Satellite radar has become an essential tool to understand current and historical ice conditions and to evaluate icerelated risk for petroleum exploration and development. It enables reliable iceberg detection and tracking, since radar can see through fog, cloud and precipitation. Radar can also collect data both day and night because it uses its own electromagnetic energy rather than sunlight – convenient for 24/7 operations and invaluable for the long Arctic night.

Detection of icebergs in radar imagery depends upon a number of factors, including iceberg size, sensor resolution and polarization. For almost two decades, CCORE (a Canadian R&D company based in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador) has been at the forefront of radar data mining to gain insight into sea ice and iceberg risk, developing algorithms to extract ice and iceberg information. C-CORE’s Remote Sensing Team has expanded the range and accuracy of extractable information by understanding the relationship between radar signal strength and size, and exploiting the unique features of emerging radars. These 08 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

European Space Agency’s Earth observing radar satellite, Sentinel-2, used for monitoring icebergs, among other things

processes are used to achieve more accurate estimates of iceberg size, better drift velocity estimates for sea ice, and improved detection of icebergs and ridges in sea ice.

The detail discernible in an image depends upon its spatial resolution, or the size of the smallest feature (including icebergs) that can be detected. An iceberg the size of St. Peter’s Basilica, for example, can be detected in lowerresolution (100m) imagery; a Volkswagon-size berg shows up in high-resolution (1-10m) imagery. There is a trade-off between resolution and coverage area: the higher the resolution, the smaller the area an image can capture. Lowresolution data offers a wide-area view of ice conditions (yielding, with appropriate analysis, sea ice charts and general large iceberg densities); medium- to high-resolution data

Radar data With appropriate analysis, satellite radar data is useful throughout the whole offshore project lifecycle. In the pre-licensing phase, comprehensive analysis of historical data and ongoing monitoring can help determine operational parameters (sea ice concentration, freeze-up/break-up dates, drift speed/direction, and iceberg frequency/size) as inputs to concept selection and design, as well as ice management planning. During exploration, development, production and de-commissioning, it can provide mission-critical information: • seasonal ice outlook; • regional monitoring for sea ice and icebergs; • tactical monitoring for sea ice and icebergs, to support ice management, re-supply and offloading, and emergency operations; and • oil spill extent to assist in emergency response.

Satellite sensors are advancing rapidly, capturing an ever-increasing amount of data.

Powerful analytical tools developed by CCORE and others is helping turn big data into big advances for offshore development and operations in frontier regions, especially when integrated early in the planning process. It is a powerful component in the toolbox of operations support and, integrated with other data forms, provides a complete story for ice characterization, risk assessment and operations decisions. FE

European Space Agency

European Space Agency’s Earth observing radar satellite, Sentinel-1, used for monitoring icebergs, among other things

provides a more detailed view (yielding size information and iceberg surveillance charts).

Newer satellites provide a better trade-off between resolution and coverage area: RADARSAT-2, launched in 2007, captures images at 25m resolution over a 100×100 km2 area; Sentinel-1, launched in 2014, images at 20m resolution over a 250×250 km2 area, allowing detection of an iceberg the size of a shipping container in an area larger than Washington DC. The increasing number and variety of Earth observing satellite radars (now including Italy’s COSMO-Skymed, Germany’s TerraSAR-X, Canada’s RADARSAT-2, India’s RiSAT and the European Space Agency’s Sentinel-1) has increased opportunities for data acquisition to every 1-3 days; future launches (such as Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission) will further increase coverage to imaging any area of interest several times daily. This proliferation has also driven more competitive pricing (depending on resolution required, when the order is placed and how quickly the image is needed). Satellite radar is also costeffective for monitoring deepwater and high-latitude regions, as traditional methods (aerial or ship-board reconnaissance) become more costly the more remote and infrastructure-sparse the area.

EAST COAST CANADA

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CANADA ARCTIC RESPONSE FACES HARSH WEATHER

E

nvironmental campaigners in Canada believe that there are serious concerns about the state and availability of the country’s oil-spill response equipment. WWF-Canada say that limited training resources and unreliable communications infrastructure, which, combined with a rise in shipping in the Arctic and extreme weather events, is leaving Arctic communities increasingly vulnerable.

Community members are often the first responders to any spill, and need access to effective and reliable equipment to contain and clean up oil. Heavy fuel oil (HFO) is the standard marine fuel for cargo ships, tankers and large cruise ships. It is also one of the world’s dirtiest, most polluting ship fuels, and the most difficult to clean up.

Changes needed Andrew Dumbrille, WWF-Canada senior specialist, sustainable shipping, says: “Shipping in the Canadian Arctic is only going to increase. We’ve already seen a large cruise ship traverse the Northwest Passage, and new proposals for increased shipping for major mining projects are emerging due to longer open-water periods … It is not right that these communities should bear the heavy consequences of a ship-based oil spill, and not be given the tools and training necessary to limit the damage. We need to make serious changes to oil-spill response plans in the Arctic before our luck runs out.”

Gaps in oil spill response capacity are outlined in two parallel assessments for the Beaufort region in the western Arctic and 10 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

Icebreaker ship cruising at night in the polar seas

Nunavut in the east, notes WWF. There are only a small number of coastal communities with access to the most basic oil-spill response equipment from the Canadian Coast Guard, and communities that do have equipment say it is irregularly maintained, too few community members are trained to use it, and that some communities don’t have a key to access the storage containers.

The harsh weather conditions, periods of prolonged darkness and the presence of sea ice make most standard oil-spill response equipment ineffective, says WWF. While remote locations mean response times for large-scale cleanup and storage equipment can be more than 10 times longer than in waters south of 60 degrees’ latitude and a lack of reliable communications infrastructure makes it difficult for communities to call for assistance, and for responders to communicate with those on land during an oil-spill response.

The consequences of an oil spill in remote communities include, says WWF include contamination of important habitat for wildlife such as polar bears, walrus, seabirds and seals, as well as narwhals, belugas and bowhead whales. Further concerns of the WWF include long-term destruction of fish habitat, a staple of the Arctic diet and widereaching contamination if oil gets trapped under sea ice and travels to communities hundreds of kilometres away.

The WWF have made a wide-ranging set of suggestions including phasing out the use by ships of HFO, the most toxic and difficult to clean up of any marine fuel in the Arctic;

aligning response time standards in the North with those south of 60 degrees latitude; develop community-based response plans and inncrease funding for training of community responders.

David Miller, WWF-Canada president and CEO, says; “Shipping will be part of the economic development crucial to creating robust, healthy northern communities, but we must ensure these opportunities also benefit nature. Now is the time to put measures in place that will help protect coastal communities and Arctic wildlife.”

New facility However, The Canadian government is investing in the region with the Canadian High Arctic Research Station (CHARS) opening up a new facility this year to provide a year-round presence and complement the network of research facilities across Canada’s North.

Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC) is leading the construction of the CHARS campus in Cambridge Bay, Nunavut.

Once complete, CHARS will be Polar Knowledge Canada’s headquarters.

The CHARS campus consists of the Main Research Building, the Field and Maintenance Building and two Triplex Accommodation Buildings for visiting researchers and scientists.

Key rooms in the station will include research labs, centres for technology development and knowledge sharing, and facilities for teaching, training, and community engagement. FE

EAST COAST CANADA

CASRAS NAVIGATION

opens up the Arctic Canada’s National Research Council has identified safe navigation across its Arctic waters as a key safety issue and developed the Canadian Arctic Shipping Risk Assessment System (CASRAS) to manage and utilise data collection

Effective navigation in ice waters is vital for safe operations

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n essential part of Canada’s sovereignty and economic future, the Arctic makes up 40% of the country’s landmass with the largest coastline of any other country in the world. Posing countless exploration and development challenges, the government of Canada — with help from the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) — is making navigation in the Arctic safer with a new risk assessment system designed to provide shipping companies, ice navigators, mariners and others, with a usuable system for the storage, query and visualization of key environmental data. Now ready for licensing, NRC’s Canadian Arctic Shipping Risk Assessment System (CASRAS) aims to make Canada’s Arctic frontier increasingly safe and navigable.

CASRAS is an integrated software system for marine transportation that enables sound decision-making for safer and more efficient shipping through the Arctic’s marine corridors. The system provides comprehensive information relating to key environmental data, including marine weather; marine hydrography; physical oceanography; sea-ice conditions, hazards and physical properties; Marine Protected Areas; and, historical information on winds, waves, tides and ice forecasting. The system is designed for use by shipping companies, regulators, government departments, ice navigators, northern communities, insurance companies and academia.

As an integrated risk assessment system for marine transportation in the Canadian North that enables sound decision-making leading to safer, more efficient shipping in this harsh environment. It provides a comprehensive system for the storage, search and

visualization of all key environmental data with specific application to shipping, icebreaking and navigation in northern waters and Arctic marine corridors.

Results and testimonials CASRAS works in parallel with ice and environmental forecasting systems to provide planning and operational decision-making support. Its analytics contribute to increased reliability and transparency for strategic route planning both on-board a vessel and in the office. The CASRAS platform and datasets are stored locally with the user and key datasets are updated online when internet access is available. CASRAS remains fully functional when internet connectivity is unreliable and cost-prohibitive in the North. The user’s proprietary datasets can be included thanks to system’s flexibility and customizable, modular framework that allows the same level of search and analysis functionality available with other operational and historical products. Customizable risk modules allow for analysis and reporting of operationspecific risks.

CASRAS is used by several private companies owned and operated by former

members of the Canadian Coast Guard and the Canadian Armed Forces. One such member is Retired Captain (Capt) Mark Taylor, who provides ice pilot services to vessels in the Canadian Arctic. CASRAS, he says, has proven vital to both his business and safety in navigating northern airspace and waters.

“One of the key areas that I focus on before flying into a new area is historical ice conditions. Before CASRAS, this entailed rigorous research on a web-based archive made available by Environment and Climate Change Canada. While a helpful resource, the process was time consuming and potentially inaccurate, as ice conditions vary from year to year,” says Captain Taylor.

“Now using CASRAS, I have the ability to input the year and the area to which I am flying with a system that does the labour for you. The end result is a presentation of information that an ice pilot can easily interpret to plan the next route.

The consolidation of information in one database has proven invaluable, particularly to offshore ships and companies.” FE www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 11

RSS SIR RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH

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Clean HULL T

he launch of the British flagged research vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough, one of the most advanced polar research vessels in the world will see scientists researching oceans, ice and atmosphere will have access to state-of-theart facilities on this floating laboratory within two years.

The vessel will be ready for sea trails in 2018 and together with a number of projects associated with supporting it, represents the largest British government investment in Antarctic and Arctic science infrastructure since the 1980s.

Commissioned by the UK government’s National Environment Research Council (NERC), the vessel was built by Cammell Laird, Birkenhead on the west coast of England and will operated by British Antarctic Survey (BAS), with the expectation of transforming how ship-borne science is conducted in the Polar Regions.

The ship will be made available for the entire UK research community with the aim of and “ensure our continued standing as one of the best countries in the world to do science in,” said a BAS spokesman.

Its flexible, future-proof container labs will ensure that the ship remains state-ofthe-art throughout its life.

At approximately 128m long and 24m wide the new ship will be capable of spending 60 days at sea without resupply, 12 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

Sir David Attenborough at work

and have a range of over 35,000 km: more than enough for a return trip from England to Rothera Research Station, or to circle the entire Antarctic continent twice! The new polar vessels will provide a multidisciplinary research platform to support a wide range of science and will have dynamic positioning for instrument deployment.

The vessel was built at the Cammell Laird’s yard in Birkenhead, UK and

The vessel is also designed to generate very low levels of underwater radiated noise and minimise the risk of pollution

commissioned or Rolls-Royce to design and equip the vessel which is Polar Code 4 ice class, has a high endurance factor, with the capacity to be self-sufficient in fuel and supplies on voyages up to 19,000 nautical miles, space for a total of 90 people and a large cargo capacity. The vessel is also designed to generate very low levels of underwater radiated noise and minimise the risk of pollution.

Onboard laboratories will allow the prompt analysis of samples.

Rolls-Royce provided Cammell Laird with diesel electric propulsion system powered by the new Bergen B33:45 engines (two nine cylinder and two six cylinder engines) and equipped with two RollsRoyce 4.5m diameter Rolls-Royce Controllable Pitch Propellers (CPP). The vessel will be able to travel through approximately one metre thick level ice with extremely low underwater radiated noise, avoiding interference with survey equipment or disturbing marine mammals and fish shoals, says Rolls Royce.

Cathodic protection UK-based engineering company Cathelco will supply marine growth prevention systems (MGPS) for the RSS Sir David Attenborough, a vitally important role in highly sensitive marine environments, particularly in polar waters.

The Cathelco marine growth prevention equipment will protect seawater pipework serving the main engines and auxiliary systems against ‘bio-fouling blockages’ caused by barnacles, mussels and other organisms.

The ‘biofouling community’ – consisting of tiny species like squirts, hard shell worms and sponges – affects many industries including underwater construction, desalination plants, ships hulls and

© Rolls Royce. Artist’s impression.

Launch of new ice-class British research vessels

RSS SIR RICHARD ATTENBOROUGH

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pipework. Removing these organisms (a process called anti-fouling) is estimated to cost billions of dollars a year globally. “The RSS Sir David Attenborough is an innovative vessel which demonstrates the UK’s capability in ship design and construction.

“We are delighted to have an association with the ship through the supply of our MGPS equipment which is the most widely used of its type in the world. One of the reasons for its popularity is that it does not involve the use of chemicals, an important factor for all vessels from an environmental perspective, but particularly for those entering Polar Regions,” says Justin Salisbury, managing director at Cathelco.

The marine growth prevention equipment consists of two electrolysis tanks, each containing a pair of copper and aluminium anodes that dose the water passing through four sea chests. In operation, the copper anodes produce ions that create an environment where barnacle and mussel

larvae do not settle or breed, but pass directly to discharge. At the same time, ions from the aluminium anode create an anticorrosive layer to protect the internal surfaces of pipes.

The concentrations of copper required to achieve this are extremely small – less than 2 parts per billion – resulting in a environmentally benign system.

Ice-class anodes have a relatively large surface area to provide a greater output.

They are made from extra thickness plate and have current emitting faces with a layer of mixed metal oxide (MMO) which is three or four times thicker than conventional anodes. Ice deflectors can be fitted around the anodes to provide further protection, says the company.

Without proper bio-fouling protection, there is a risk that pipework serving engine cooling systems can become partially or completely blocked over a period of time, resulting in the need for manual cleaning or premature pipework renewal. FE

www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 13

SUBSEA

ARCTIC SUBSEA FUTURE Canada, the US and Russia developing subsea options /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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hree of the major Arctic energy developers Russia, Canada and the US are developing projects to manage and support subsea developments in the Arctic.

In the US, specialised subsea company Houston, Texas-based Trendsetter Engineering has been supplying Subsea Accumulator Modules (SAM) to harsh environments including the Arctic.

Trendsetter’s SAM systems have been deployed in a variety of roles, including as a simple BOP stand-by unit and as a key component to augment subsea pig launch systems. Depending on the project, the SAM can be utilized as a simple stand-by source of hydraulic power or can be equipped with complex controls and acoustic communications.

The recent Rig Specific Requirements prescribed in the Well Control Rule have placed additional demands on a rig’s BOP accumulation and flow requirements including the following: 250.734(b)(2) - Have the accumulator capacity located subsea…; The accumulator capacity must: • Operate each required shear ram, ram locks, one pipe ram, and disconnect the LMRP; • Have the capability of delivering fluid to each ROV function via flying leads; • 250.734(a)(4) - The ROV must be capable of opening and closing each shear ram, ram locks, one pipe ram, and LMRP disconnect under MASP conditions as defined for the operation.

“Our systems have been used in the past to ensure compliance in the Alaskan arctic by providing a means to remotely access a BOP Panel on a submerged BOP. The flexibility of our compact design allows us the ability to modify the SAMs to suit the application, making them ideal for any application,” said a company spokesman.

Whether renting a SAM from Trendsetter’s existing inventory, or purchasing one designed for your particular application, Trendsetter has the expertise and track record to provide you with a SAM unit that will ensure you maintain regulatory compliance.

Arctic compliance Trendsetter’s Arctic Capping Stack (ACS) follows the US government’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) requirements. The design aims to can be used as an emergency pressure containing device that acts as a barrier in the extremely unlikely event 14 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

ROVs have a future in the Arctic

of a BOP failure. Arctic weather and environmental extremes, encountered both at the frigid seafloor and in the air, mandate specialised design, engineering, and function requirements for the ACS to be effective—the operations will also be performed in shallow water depths (200 fsw, feet of seawater).

Earlier, “The ACS was shipped in truckable modules to Portland, OR and was restacked in less than two days. This kind of quick response is imperative should deployment become necessary,” said a company spokesman.

Built with Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) interfaces, the ACS is ROV operable and capable of capturing/processing 100,000 barrels of fluid per day, with onboard accumulation for rapid well control. Its design life is set at 20 years.

Russia goes subsea Russian engineers are also looking subsea and have launched a project to create a digital subsea production system (SPS) may be launched in Russia The project will be implemented under a contract with Gazprom and feature Russian companies as partners.

“One of the projects we plan to launch under the National Technology Initiative provides for creating a digital subsea production system. The project has been ordered by major players. It fits the concept of a digital economy and a digital future and will also seriously reduce costs. Taken together, this makes the project very attractive and promising,” Osmakov said.

He added that another positive element of this project is that it helps reduce spending on in-place tests.

“Gazprom, as the anchor client, is creating a consortium for this project. I hope we will be able to discuss the project at the TechNet

working group of the National Technology Initiative in the second quarter of 2017 and launch it by the end of the year,” Osmakov said.

Subsea safety for Canada Aiming to increase marine safety by providing the means to closely monitor shipping vessels navigating through its waters, The Canadian Ocean Protection Plan has been designed to achieve higher safety levels.

With Canada aiming to increase marine safety within its coastal shores, Deep Trekker Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) may well prove to be suited for the task. Through the Ocean Protection Plan, the Canadian government plans to increase funding to marine safety services to each of the country’s coasts; including the shipping passages in the Arctic waters.

The programme highlights the need for more Coast Guard depots for increased emergency response times and tougher regulation on ships transporting goods.

Aside from expanding the emergency response fractions, the program looks to support the communities that take residence in Canada’s northern territories. In the most remote regions in the Arctic, the only means of hauling supplies, such as food, clothing, oil, and gas, is by marine transport.

To aid these establishments and to bolster marine safety through these shipping passages, the Ocean Protection Plan focuses strict monitoring processes on vessels navigating through Canadian waters. Ship hulls are inspected for any signs of damage or contamination that could harm the local environment. Coast Guard units dive below the surface or deploy underwater cameras to evaluate the integrity of the vessel. FE

TRACKING ICEBERGS

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Floating in the Scotia Sea

Understanding large

ICEBERG

MOVEMENT ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Tabular icebergs can drift through the ocean for eight years or more, and predominantly melt at the bottom

W

hen, in the foreseeable future, a huge tabular iceberg breaks off the Larsen C Ice Shelf in the Antarctic, it will begin a journey, the course of which climate researchers at the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany can accurately predict. The researchers have now succeeded in modelling how Antarctic icebergs drift through the Southern Ocean, and in identifying the physical factors behind their movement and their melting. Which factors are most important tends to depend on the size of the iceberg in question, say researchers from the institute.

Polar experts around the globe are currently watching the Antarctic Peninsula with bated breath. On the Larsen C Ice Shelf, a massive iceberg has begun to break off from the rest. The future iceberg will be roughly 175 kilometres long, and will measure 50 km across at its widest point. As such, it will have a

total surface area of nearly 6,000 km2, making it seven times the size of the greater Berlin metropolitan area. At around 1,300 gigatonnes, the colossus will weigh nearly as

Iceberg routes around Antarctica

much as all of the new icebergs formed in the Antarctic in the course of an average year.

“Icebergs that aren’t longer or wider than two kilometres normally drift away from the ice shelf edge and out of coastal waters within a few months. The wind pushes them out to the open sea, where they ultimately break up into smaller pieces and melt in the course of two to three years,” explains Thomas Rackow, a climate modeller at the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven and first author of the new study.

When it comes to mammoths on the scale of the Larsen C candidate, the wind is largely irrelevant. Instead, the icebergs’ motion is chiefly driven by their own weight, and by the fact that the surface of the Southern Ocean is not flat, but instead leans typically to the north. As a result, sea level can be up to 0.5 metres higher on the southern edge of the Weddell Sea or along the Antarctic Peninsula than at its centre. As Rackow elaborates, “When large icebergs drift, they initially slide down the inclined ocean surface, but not along a straight line; they tend to veer to the left.

This is due to the Coriolis force, which is a consequence of the Earth’s rotation and ultimately puts the icebergs on a course parallel to the coast, one similar to the Antarctic Coastal Current.”

Heading north How far the future Larsen C iceberg will drift depends on whether it remains intact after calving, or quickly breaks up into smaller pieces. Further, the iceberg may run aground for a time. According to Rackow: “If it doesn’t break up, chances are good that it will first drift for about a year through the Weddell Sea, along the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Then it will most likely follow a northeasterly course, heading roughly for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.”

Given its massive weight, the Larsen C iceberg will likely survive for eight to ten years; according to the computer model, that’s the maximum life expectancy for even the largest “white wanderers”.

“The primary goal of our study was to understand in which region of the Southern Ocean the large icebergs melt, adding massive quantities of freshwater in the process. The fact that we have now also succeeded in unravelling the fundamental mechanisms so thoroughly is a wonderful extra bonus,” Rackow concludes. FE www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 15

SEISMIC

Activity up in BARENTS SEA Russia and Norwegian governments share seismic data, as new companies grab a share of the post-production market //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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eismic activity in the Barents Sea is on an upward climb, notably Russian and Norwegian authorities agreeing an official method of sharing seismic data collection in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

Collection of this seismic data will continue up to and along the demarcation line on the continental shelf in the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

Both countries have a mutual strategic interest in co-operating on the Barents Sea shelf in the so-called disputed zone, as well as possibly developing trans-border deposits.

Russia’s energy minister Sergei Donskoi says: “Therefore it is necessary to draft the relevant regulatory and legal framework”.

Both countries play an important role in preserving and using the raw materials potential of the Barents region,” says Donskoi.

“Above all, this concerns geological prospecting and extraction of minerals on the continental shelf”.

The Russian continental shelf contains an estimated 100 billion metric tonnes of oil equivalent, and oil reserves total about ten billion metric tonnes,” Donskoi says.

Over the years, the shelf has been studied inconsistently, and the correlation between studied and estimated resources makes it possible to predict the discovery of unique major deposits on the shelf. Currently, authorities are trying to expand the scale of geological prospecting operations.

Maria Johanna Oudeman, a Statoil board member, says that Statoil has been operating in Russia for the past 26 years or so and sees Russia as a strategic partner, and its corporate policy aims to strengthen its presence and to take part in new joint projects.

Shearwater award Setup in 2016, Shearwater GeoServices has been awarded of re-processing of 2D seismic data in the Barents Sea from the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. The re-processing is of two projects to be run in parallel, including approx. 6,000 km of pre-stack time migration re-processing and 2,500 km of ‘shallow’ target and data analysis of 2D 16 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

Seismic companies are busy in icy waters of the High North

seismic data across the Barents Sea. Simon Telfer, VP Processing & Imaging at Shearwater GeoServices, says: “These contracts represent continuation of processing work and a strong relationship with the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate since 2013, which has seen our geophysicists process over 36,000 km of 2D seismic data from the Barents Sea regions for the NPD. “In addition, the processing of many other 2D and 3D surveys from offshore Norway has given our geophysicists vast experience processing data from the Barents Sea and Norwegian Continental Shelf environments.”

Shearwater GeoServices is a full service geophysical company jointly owned by GC Rieber Shipping and Rasmussengruppen and the announced award represents a significant contribution to the company’s processing order book, fuelling its ambitious growth strategy.

Shearwater has a fleet of four modern seismic vessels, a broad offering of high quality geophysical services including advanced processing and acquisition techniques, and two owners with complementing skills and collectively a long experience in the industry. In connection with the establishment of Shearwater, GC Rieber Shipping and Rasmussengruppen invested $60 million in equity.

Irene Waage Basili, chief executive at the

company, says: “These are exciting times for Shearwater. We have secured strategic contracts with key clients from the start - in a very competitive market – forming a strong basis for our business going forward. Although we expect a challenging market still some time ahead, I believe the timing and the relative positioning for Shearwater is quite unique”.

New survey Elsewhere, seismic giant TGS is preparing a new Barents Sea survey known as Carlsen 3D (CAR17 3D), a 5,490 km2 multi-client survey in open acreage located in the southwest Barents Sea between the Tromsø and Sørvestnaget Basins. Multi-level targets exist within Pre-Cretaceous, Cretaceous and Paleogene throughout the area - leads include rotated fault blocks and sand injectites, says the company. Acquisition is expected to take place over the Spring and Sumer months.

Data processing will be performed by TGS using its Clari-FiTM broadband technology to image the complex fault patterns in this prospective area.

Kristian Johansen, chief executive for TGS, says: “Carlsen 3D will expand TGS’ data coverage in the Barents Sea where we have a strong track record of success. This project will provide modern, high quality seismic data to an area that is expected to be of high interest in upcoming licensing rounds.” FE

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REMOTE COMMS

SATELLITES for Arctic communications Race is on to improve communications at high latitudes //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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18 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

Artist’s impression of the fairing separation of a small GEO is a multipurpose satellite platform capable of accommodating a wide range of commercial telecommunications payloads and missions

Long shadows cast across the snow give a frosty view of the covered domes of Europe’s most northerly ground station on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, as seen by the smallest camera on ESA’s veteran Proba-1 mini-satellite.

gas operations boosting control of industry processes: from drilling and transportation to financial transactions, more terminals deployed on the field means the possibility of being more precise and accurate.

Svalbard’s vital role The Svalbard Satellite Station, or SvalSat, is far to the north of the Arctic circle, but is an important part of the infrastructure for a range of satellite missions. The ground station has worked with a range of Earth observation missions in polar orbits and is also important to the Galileo satellite navigation system, and the upcoming Copernicus satellites.

SvalSat is located on Spitsbergen, the largest

island of the Svalbard archipelago. A neighbouring site was used by ESRO/ESA for a VHF station many years ago, but the current station is owned by Norwegian industry.

The SvalSat station was established by the Norwegian Space Centre in 1997, but since 2002 has been owned and operated by Kongsberg Satellite Services. It is an important part of the ground infrastructure for NASA and EUMETSAT, in addition to ESA Earth observation missions and for the Galileo and Copernicus satellites being launched by ESA in agreement with the European Commission.

For Galileo, SvalSat will serve as a Sensor Station to check the timing and positioning accuracy of Galileo signals, as well as an Uplink Station to transmit correction messages to the satellites as needed, sharpening the overall accuracy of Galileo navigation services.

Svalbard is one of the most remote Galileo ground stations. The road to Spitsbergen's main settlement of Longyearbyen is regularly blocked by severe weather – a helicopter pad provides back-up access for the 23-strong team of engineers who operate SvalSat around the clock.

The station is equipped to survive for a week or two without a fresh supply of water or waste removal (for environmental reasons, everything that goes up to the station has to be removed after use). Apart from the obvious climatic peculiarities, there is a real danger of encountering polar bears outside the settlement as they outnumber people on the island as a whole. FE

Images courtesy of ESA

s remote as it is, the Arctic can be a busy place. Energy companies, mining companies, fisheries, cruise ships and more need to be able to operate including being able to communicate efficiently. Increased traffic on transpolar shipping routes expected in the near future, could prove a big challenge for the communications infrastructure, says a spokesman from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Communications satellites operating in geostationary Earth orbit do not cover the area of the Arctic. Even when a link can be made, it can be prone to interruption from icing on antennas, or from disruption caused by heavy seas.

The Iridium satellite constellation can supply communications services in the Arctic, but there have been recorded cases of interruptions to the service which can last several minutes. It also does not provide the broadband communication that will be needed more and more with the development of human activities in the region, posing a challenge for the coming years.

A range of projects, including the ARTES 1 ArctiCOM project, have investigated possible solutions to the Arctic communications problem, says the ESA. Improving communications at high latitudes has been a particular goal for Canada, because so much of its territory lies in this region. The Canadian Space Agency has been developing the Polar Communications and Weather satellite (PCW) mission. Although the project is still being developed, it would comprise two satellites to serve Canada’s communication needs, as well as collecting information for the global research community on Arctic weather and climate.

Russia also has strong territorial reasons for wanting to improve communications in the Arctic and has proposed the Arktika satellites.

Both Canada and Russia have consulted with commercial concerns in the Arctic to build better communications. In Russia, the space systems subsidiary of energy company Gazprom is developing the PolarStar satellite to provide broadband in the Arctic with a particular view to its own communications need.

Gazprom Space Systems (Gascom) also uses its Yamal 3000 system across its the oil and

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ICE LOAD MONITORING

An oil tanker navigates ice-affected, frozen seas

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ICY HULLS

take the strain Increasing numbers of oil tankers, support vessels, cruise liners and many other types of ships are crossing into iceaffected waters and are subject to intense physical demands, not least with ice sticking to the hull in unpredictable patterns ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

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orwegian companies Light Structures and Aker Arctic have developed an intelligent ice load monitoring system for vessels operating in icecovered waters, providing the operators with a tool to manage a ship’s physical state and performance in real-time, using fibre optic conditioning systems.

The newly developed state of the art systems will monitor hull loads with optical sensors installed on the steel structures of the vessel, says Inge C. Paulsen, CEO of Light Structures. The company was the prime technology provider to an R&D program lead

by DNV GL and the Royal Norwegian Navy – Coast Guard Division, where the main objective has been to monitor the loads on the hull when operating in ice.

Teams from Aker Arctic, icebreaking ship designer and Light Structures who develop optical monitoring systems for ships’ hulls, created ARC Ice Load Monitoring System (ILMS), a tool for real-time forecasting during ice navigation.

Light Structures has already installed 28 sensors and 2 accelerometers on the ENIoperated Goliat FPSO which is currently working in the Barents Sea. A system has also been put on the S. A. Agulhas, a South African ice-strengthened training ship and former polar research vessel and on the Christophe de 20 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

Inge C. Paulsen, ceo at Light Structures

Margerie, an ice-strengthened LNG carrier dedicated to Russia’s Yamal LNG project which will operate throughout the year without ice-breaker assistance.

The challenges of operating in ice-infested waters affect more and more vessels as Arctic shipping routes are opening, and offshore oil and gas related activities in the Arctic continue to increase.

Year round operation Financially, it is essential to be able to operate and utilize the vessel all year round.

However, in deep winter conditions ice loads exceeding the design load is a major risk for the hull and may cause permanent damage to

the hull and interrupt operations.

With the information received from the sensors and combined with a ship’s structural capability, the system is able to show operators the loading and risk level imposed by ice impacts. The system will also be able to make a probability forecast of the expected loads, providing vessel operators with an improved tool to operate the ships in safe but efficient ways and comprises of a sensor network, data collector, processing and storage unit and display on the bridge, the system can also gather ship data for ongoing analysis.

Thus, the SENSFIB Ice Load Monitoring system which measures the actual load on the hull and displays the utilisation factor of the hull structure before yield (permanent damage) was developed. The system features a bridge display for presenting actual loads in real time, contributing to more safe and effective operation helping the navigator making informed decisions.

Paulsen says ice loads exceeding the design load is a major risk and may cause permanent damage to the hull and challenge the crew’s safety. “The ‘Ice Load Monitoring’ system monitors the actual load on the hull in realtime and displays the utilization factor of the hull structure – which will be of immense importance for both inexperienced as well as experienced navigators, in addition to the important input for maintenance planning and surveys,” he says.

“This system and service will help operators in many ways, it provides more safe operations, improves the understanding of the ice loads and therefore the practical training will be improved. We can provide our extensive technical know-how to help ship owners in their operations and avoid unnecessary cost arising from the hull damages,” says Aker Arctic managing director Reko-Antti Suojanen.

Paulsen from Light Structures says the company’s work on ice load monitoring has been inspired by the growing focus on arctic shipping, caused by increased oil and gas activities and planned sailing routes. FE

ICEBREAKER /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Arctech CEO Esko Mustamäki at the Gennadiy Nevelskoy naming ceremony at Helsinki Shipyard

New supply vessel for SCF Group named Gennadiy Nevelskoy at Arctech Helsinki Shipyard

Sakhalin ice-breaker

DELIVERED ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Named after a famous Russian Arctic explorer of the mid 1800s, this new vessel is state of the art

F

innish ship designer and builder Arctech has delivered the first of four vessels commissioned by the Russian SCF Group for operation at the Sea of Okhotsk around the Sakhalin Island upstream developments. The vessel started its voyage from Helsinki to the Sakhalin Island in March and is an early example of the new generation of iceclass support vessels that will support offshore Arctic developments.

The ship was named after a famous explorer of the Russian Far East, Gennadiy Nevelskoy (3,000 dwt), and has been built inline with the latest international standards for the safety of operation and environmental protection. The new vessel will be built for the North East Sakhalin Offshore region oil and gas field where she will be used as a platform supply vessel for Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. (SEIC). The total value of the order is about EUR100 million.

Esko Mustamäki, CEO of Arctech Helsinki Shipyard, says: “This vessel is the first one of totally four vessels [built] for Sovcomflot. This vessel is technically a forerunner in Arctic shipbuilding. It is also environmentally advanced and fulfills IMO Tier III requirements.

We have also paid special attention to the underwater noise level caused by the ship.”

The icebreaking stand-by vessels are designed for stand-by and rescue duties and for oil spill recovery. They can also be used as supply vessels for cargo transfer e.g. for low flashpoint fuels.

MAIN PARTICULARS NB 511 Gennadiy Nevelskoy Icebreaking platform supply vessel Gross Tonnage Net Tonnage Power Propulsion Length, overall Breadth Speed in 1.5 m level ice Design draft Maximum draft Deadweight Lifesaving appliances Number of Crew and Special personnel Number of cabins Classification Shipyard Customer

8,400 2,500 21 MW 13 MW 104.4 m 21 m 3.0 kn 7.60 m 7.90 m 3,000 tonnes 70 persons 28 + 42 persons 45 Russian Maritime Register of Shipping Arctech, Finland Sovcomflot

KM(*), Icebreaker6, AUT-1, OMBO, FF3WS, DYNPOS2, ANTI-ICE, ECO, Winterization(-35), Supply vessel, Oil recovery Ship, Special purpose ship.

The vessels measure 95 m in length and 22 m in breadth and are based on Aker Arctic concept Aker ARC 121. The four diesel generator engines have the total power of about 20 000 kW and the propulsion power of the vessel is 13 000 kW. The design fulfils demanding requirements set forth by SEIC with a total

capacity of 98 onboard.

The vessel has been developed and designed and built by designers and engineers at Arctech’s Helsinki Shipyard. The now delivered icebreaking platform supply vessel Gennadiy Nevelskoy will be followed by three icebreaking stand-by vessels. The other three are icebreaking standby vessels (IBSBVs) that have a smaller deadweight (2,000 tonnes), but offer enhanced functionality and a higher accommodation capacity.

Gennadiy Nevelskoy will have Saint Petersburg as her home port and be registered under the Russian flag. The Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, which is providing technical supervision during the construction of all the four vessels, has assigned the ice class of Icebreaker 6 to the new IBSV. She is the first of four vessels commissioned

by SCF Group. The other three are ice-breaking standby vessels have a smaller deadweight (2,000 tonnes), but offer enhanced functionality and a higher accommodation capacity.

The vessels will be operating in thick drifting ice for ice management and icebreaking in temperatures as cold as minus 35 C°. The icebreaking capability of the stand-by vessels is extremely high and the vessels are able to proceed independently in 1.5 meter thick ice.

The vessels will be outfitted for emergency evacuation, fire fighting operations and helicopter operations. The vessels can also act as diving support vessel as they are outfitted with a moon pool.

The four vessels will be used for year-round delivery of supplies and consumables to offshore platforms, transporting personnel and for performing standby and ice management duties near the platforms. They will also be outfitted for integrated environmental protection and rescue operations. The vessels will be used for the year-round delivery of supplies and consumables to offshore platforms, and for performing standby duty near them.

The vessels will also be outfitted for integrated environmental protection and rescue operations. FE www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 21

OFFSHORE EMERGENCIES

SEARCH AND RESCUE /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Keeping a close watch on the thousands of square kilometres of Arctic sea and coastline is problematic, and needs urgent attention

22 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

T

ime is the critical factor for Search & Rescue (S&R) operations in harsh, Arctic and ice-affected environments.

While many photographs of the Arctic region depict lovely blue skies and calm seas, the reality is long hours of darkness, high winds and driving blasts of snow and ice, and dangerously unpredictable sea states.

In the event of an emergency incident involving an oil or gas installation, fishing vessel or cruise liner that results in an evacuation of many people, perhaps thousands into survival suits to lifeboats, a fast rescue is vital to ensure saving lives.

Giving the best chances of survival to people in cold temperatures is the major challenge.

More research and development is needed and being done to develop and use technology for fast transfer of larger numbers of people from the affected vessel/installation or lifeboats to safety. These methods should also be usable in harsh environments such as polar lows with high winds, fog or heavy snow, says Norwegian technology research organisation Marintek, which is calling for “continued development work on dry evacuation rescue systems”.

One of the major challenges facing effective

Image © Viking

IN THE HIGH NORTH

OFFSHORE EMERGENCIES

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

What is EER (Escape, Evacuation, Rescue) Escape

Act of personnel moving away from a hazardous event to a

Evacuation

Planned precautionary and emergency method of moving personnel from the installation (muster station or temporary refuge) to a safe distance beyond the immediate or potential hazard zone. (ISO 19906) Process by which persons entering the sea or reaching the ice surface, directly or in an evacuation craft, are subsequently retrieved to a place where medical assistance is typically available. (ISO 19906)

Rescue

place on the installation where its effects are reduced or removed. (ISO 15544)

Also the term Recovery involves: Recovery

Combing air and sea rescue is vital

operation of Arctic EER (escape, evacuation and rescue) operations is that they must be workable year round, in open waters and waters partly or fully covered in ice. Thus all work is focused on timing being a critical factor. With this in mind, companies developing equipment and procedures are working on developing fast transfer to safety of large numbers of people onto any number of different oil or gas installations, cruise liners, or fishing boats.

SARiNOR, a joint venture between Norwegian public organisations and private companies and representing a significant amount of competence, experience, needs and requirements for search and rescue in the High North, is one of the leading groups pushing for greater investment and research into life and property saving in the Arctic region.

Norwegian governments over 20 or so years have largely agreed on High North strategies. The original proposal for SARiNOR project was developed by research organizations MARINTEK and Akvaplanniva together with Norwegian-based

Transfer of evacuees to a rescue vessel, helicopter etc. (ISO 19906)

Maritime Forum, Maritim 21, Norwegian Shipowners’ Association and Norwegian Hull Club, the Norwegian subsidiaries of international oil companies ENI and Shell, Nordland County and the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Bodø, says the country’s trade and export group, Nortrade.

“The starting point for this project is that there have been accidents,” says Tor Husjord, Maritime Forum North leader at SARiNOR, prior to the launch of the project.

“Ice is melting, tourism is increasing, and there is more petroleum activity,” says Husjord, speaking at the time. “In the future, there can be four-lane waterways through the passage.”

Norway’s current government identifies in its strategy document 'Nordkloden' the High North as Norway's most important foreign policy area of interest. Around 90% of the country's sea areas are in the north and around 80% of all Arctic activities are currently taking place inside the Norwegian zone.

Tore Wangsfjord, chief of operations at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Bodø, believes there will be a number of operational challenges in the Arctic to overcome. He highlighted during at the SARiNOR launch in particular the polar low-pressure system, darkness half of the year, few SAR resources, big distances between infrastructure, and communication challenges in this area.

“The level today is set by how far helicopters can fly and the number of rescue operations they can do in that radius,” says Erik Dyrkoren, Maritim 21 program leader.

“But we need to think of ambition in a much broader sense, not just helicopters, but how other entities can help in a more coordinated way. One thing is new technology, but another is better communication and also competence

among seafarers.” Another challenge is the inclusion of the formerly disputed area bordering Russia in the Barents Sea, which makes Norway’s area of coverage now bigger than ever, Dyrkoren adds.

The Norwegian Rescue Service covers the area stretching from 57° north, in the Skagerrak, to 82° north, north of Svalbard.

The current agreement for S&R in the Arctic is based on the Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Maritime Search and Rescue in the Arctic, the international treaty agreed in 2011 among the members of the Arctic Council Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the US. Norway has some special challenges for S&R north of the remote island of Svalbard.

Norwegian and Russian S&R service providers have cooperated on many offshore incidents, on at least 120 occasions, notably in the Russian Search and Rescue Region (SRR).

One example occurred on the Rybachiy Peninsula, when in December 2007 a Norwegian Sea King helicopter rescued 12 seafarers from a grounded Russia bulker.

Increased traffic and activity in these areas leads to a higher risk of larger accidents, with the potential loss of both human lives and environmentally damaging consequences.

The Arctic Council’s agreement on search and rescue (the S&R agreement) includes the allocation of responsibility zones and cooperation obligations between the member states.

Equipment challenges In developing procedures for enhanced rescue capabilities, SARiNOR says the goal is to ensure casualties survive until rescue can be affected. The principal forces working against that are time pressures; ultra-low water temperatures and the risk of hypothermia, www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 23

OFFSHORE EMERGENCIES

and a lack of suitable rescue equipment.

SARiNOR’s research suggest that there is an option to adapt existing equipment and procedures to work effectively in the polar environment; to enhance general training of staff and crew including evacuation methods and how to survive in a cold climates, and taking a holistic approach to the total rescue chain.

Companies such as US-based White Glacier and Norway’s Viking Life-Saving Equipment are developing advanced materials and techniques to enhance life saving in the event of an emergency evacuation in icy waters.

US-based White Glacier designs and manufactures hypothermia protective immersion suits, tested and verified to withstand over 25 hours of frigid exposure to water temperatures of 0°C, outlasting the current standard of six hours. This is due to buoyancy (97 lbs.), which floats a castaway above the water and an insulating layer, which offers a CLO value of 4.6 (CLO is the relative measure of the ability of insulation to provide warmth).

This is important for complying with the Polar Code as it's now required that all passengers and crew be issued adequate thermal protection for a minimum of five days. A recent search and rescue simulation in the Arctic has shown a gap between previously available technology and the Polar code requirements. It's only adequate if it works, notes White Glacier.

Viking, in addition to its range of personal life saving devices, recently purchased the Danish engineering firm Nadiro A/S which has developed and now manufactures a hydraulic system for lowering lifeboats and releasing them in the water in emergencies.

The Drop-in-Ball system is marketed 24 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

through Viking’s global sales organization and complies with the international SOLAS regulations which require vessels have an approved hook system installed by 2019.

Development activity A key question often asked of Norway’s Arctic players is: ‘are you prepared for the current development activity ongoing in the region?’

In the Norwegian parliament's white paper of 2011 that considered how to manage the predicted growth of activity in the region, this issue was developed: ‘the government shall ensure Norway's ability to exercise rescue services in own and adjacent regions by maintaining and improving our ability to conduct search and rescue’.

The white paper further states: 'All commercial actors and their organisations

Images © Viking

The cruise market needs to take Arctic safety seriously

OFFSHORE EMERGENCIES

//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

openness about the challenges, development of knowledge and sharing of experiences’.

The project has been part-funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs with a contribution of NOK8million to develop the SARiNOR project.

Different approaches In Norway, the main rescue strategy has traditionally been based on use of search and rescue helicopters, while in Russia the main rescue strategy is based on using surface vessels.

Norwegian search and rescue services are considered a national effort and are overseen by the government’s Ministry of Justice and Public Security, which has the power to assign any potential resource to any emergency. Currently assets are limited, with the Air Forces 330 squadron’s rescue helicopters on standby at six bases across the country. Currently the country’s SAR assets includes a Sea King helicopter with a 200 nautical miles, a Super Puma helicopter based in Svalbard with a range of 200nm, alongside other Norwegian Air Force helicopters and air ambulance capability through Norsk Luftambulanse.

Russia is continually developing its Arctic search and rescue capability and now has at least 41 new salvage vessels on order for delivery by 2020. The vessel Spatsel Kavdeykin, built in 2013, has ARC 5 ice class, power units of 4 MW and can rescue up to 80 people in an emergency. The Murman vessel has Icebreaker 6 class, power units of 7MW and has been in service since 2015.

Russian oil companies, Gazpromneft and Lukoil, have their own rescue ships located in the south-eastern part of the Barents Sea (the Pechora Sea), near Prirazlomnoe oil field and Varandey oil terminal.

Both companies also hold large stocks of oil spill response resources on onshore bases in Varandey as well as on Prirazlomnaya platform.

Technology developments Well maintained life rafts save lives

must systematically strive to reduce risk of accidents and to a larger extent handle crisis by themselves than is normally necessary in other waters'. Thus, the SARiNOR project is a direct answer to this appeal. As the group says: ‘with SARiNOR, commercial interests have joined forces to solve a national challenge’.

The white paper also states that, ‘the government wishes to contribute with

Researchers at the Norwegian technology research organisation Marintek list six factors that are need for a successful outcome of maritime emergency evacuations in Arctic waters including the effective design of escape routes from oil installation or vessels; sufficient evacuation means such including shutes; distance to appropriate SAR resources; early information/ detection related to onshore and offshore players in the incident; highly metocean data, and high levels of data and information about prevailing ice conditions.

Tor Husjord, Maritime Forum North leader

Littoral nations of the Arctic are developing a range of technologies and processes for Arctic emergency rescue systems including effective traffic surveillance and detection of maritime accidents.

Currently, the countries are making the maximum use of available resources including ships and aircraft, particularly helicopters; understanding the transit speed of seabourne rescue vehicles and SAR helicopters, and prevailing capability of transferring from lifeboats and rafts to helicopter or rescue vessels.

One of the largest challenges is the vast distances the vessels will need to cover. For example, newly ordered Norwegian AWSAR (All Weather Search and Rescue) helicopters are tasked with being able to pick-up 20 people within a distance of 266nm, and be able to fly 315nm and return without refueling.

Norwegian oil giant Statoil’s Johan Castberg and ENI’s Goliat installation lie well within the 266nm limits.

Seabourne rescue has a different set of criteria. Assuming that the rescue is a success, the people in an LSA (life saving appliance) need to be rescued within a reasonable amount of time, taking in accounts issues as speed loss in waves through rough waters.

So, while there is much to be done in terms of equipment and technology development and organisational planning, government and industry is increasingly becoming aware of the challenges it faces in the complex, highly integrated world of Arctic search and rescue. FE www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 25

INSIGHT

Oil burning tests in a research tank

ICE & FIRE

the burning question /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

As the Arctic becomes more accessible to shipping and oil exploration there has been an increasing demand to increase the level of preparedness of the authorities to handle a spill. In a new PhD dissertation presented at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Laurens van Gelderen considers in-situ burning as a solution

26 SPRING 2017 www.frontierenergy.info

W

Crude Oil on Water – A Study on the Fire ith the Arctic opening up to Dynamics and Fire Chemistry in an Arctic new shipping routes and Context,” was successfully defended in increased oil exploration and production due to climate change, the risk of March, 2107. One of the main topics an Arctic oil spill is increasing. Of the classic addressed in the thesis is the parameters that oil spill response determine the methods (mechanical burning efficiency for recovery, dispersants a crude oil fire, i.e. and in-situ burning), the percentage of the In-situ burning aims to remove in-situ burning is oil that is effectively the oil from the marine considered to be removed from the environment by burning it from particularly a water surface using suitable response this method. “From the water surface method in the Arctic. the many laboratory In-situ burning aims experiments and into remove the oil situ burning field tests that have been published over the past from the marine environment by burning it decades it is clear that there burning from the water surface. My recent Ph.D. efficiencies can vary from as low as 33% to thesis from the Technical University of as high as 99%,” Van Gelderen observed.

Denmark has provided new insights with respect to the fire science behind this “Although it had been reported that large response method. scale fires with pool diameters larger than 2 The thesis, entitled “In-Situ Burning of meters resulted in higher burning efficiencies

INSIGHT

Laurens van Gelderen defending his PhD

than small scale laboratory fires, there was no clear scientific explanation available for this trend.” Without means to accurately predict the burning efficiency of in-situ burning for a specific situation, the decision making process to select the best response methods becomes all the more complicated.

As such, this topic warranted further study.

flame to the oil is not sufficient to heat up the oil and compensate for the cooling effect of the water, the fire will extinguish, leaving behind a burned-oil residue on the water.

Large pool fires are known to transfer a larger portion of their energy to the fuel compared to small scale pool fires, which may explain their higher burning efficiencies as there is more heat available to compensate the cooling of the water.

“By subjecting small scale laboratory pool fires to an additional heat source, we tried to simulate the energy balance of large scale

presence in the water were all found to be less relevant for the burning efficiency once the spilled oil is fully ignited.

More research needed

While this is positive news, there are still areas of in-situ burning that require further research and optimization. Ignition of spilled oil and the subsequent spreading of the initial fire over the full oil slick to reach the A unique liquid fully-ignited stage of the fire remains one of During his research, Van Gelderen the main challenges of in-situ burning. experienced that crude oil is a unique liquid Processes such as evaporation of light fuel that behaves notably different from components and emulsification of refined and pure fuels, such as gasoline spilled oil, which were shown not to and diesel, during a fire. The influence the burning efficiency, do thousands of different hydrocarbons The thousands of different hydrocarbons still play a major role in the in a crude oil make it a very dynamic in a crude oil make it a very dynamic fuel, ignitability of the oil. fuel, which constantly changes its “The ignition of and flame spread properties during combustion. which constantly changes its properties over spilled oil is one of the topics Experimental results showed that during combustion these components are burned in order where I believe that research and of decreasing volatility. Similar to the development can make the biggest improvements, both practically and distillation process of crude oil, the scientifically,” van Gelderen states. components found in gasoline are burned off fires in the laboratory and indeed, the burning efficiency increased,” Van Gelderen “Currently, ignition is often considered a first from a crude oil slick, followed by black and white property of spilled oil, components found in diesel and heavy fuels, says. “Although we are still trying to either it can be ignited or it cannot. This is and then ultimately the asphalt-like understand the full relation between the not completely true though, because any fuel components are burned. “This means that in pool fire size and the burning efficiency, it is can be ignited, as long as you have a strong order to remove a crude oil spill completely clear that the larger the fire, the higher the enough ignition source. Ignition of and flame from the water surface by in-situ burning, removal percentage of the crude oil will be.” the temperature of the oil needs to This result is helpful for in-situ burning as spread on a spilled oil should instead be continuously heat up to evaporate the an oil spill response method, because it viewed as a scientific question of how strong shows that the burning efficiency is always the ignition source should be, and a practical components with a decreasing volatility,” expected to be near optimal for spilled oil question of how that source should be Van Gelderen says. applied in the field,” Van Gelderen The water on which the oil floats, fires, simply due to their size. Other concludes. FE however, continuously cools the burning oil. parameters, such as the evaporation of light When the energy that is fed back from the components, emulsification of the oil or ice Contact: lauge@byg.dtu.dk www.frontierenergy.info SPRING 2017 27

EVENTS, CONFERENCES & EXHIBITIONS

Offshore Technology Conference //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

OTC 2017 May 1 – 4 Houston, Texas With challenges on many fronts continuing to affect exploration and production and an industry sense of resilience and guarded optimism about oil prices, the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) to be held from 1–4 May at NRG Park in Houston will present an especially timely occasion for worldwide energy professionals to chart the way ahead.

Visitors from more than 100 countries plan to attend the conference, and they can expect to find a rich opportunity to learn and exchange ideas on technical and commercial issues, evolving industry practices, and potential breakthrough technologies.

One of the world’s largest oil and gas industry conferences, OTC drew an attendance of more than 68,000 last year. In addition to its technical and topical sessions, OTC hosts a major exhibition of technology and services. More than 2,100 companies and organisations representing 41 countries are expected to exhibit, including 200 new exhibitors.

2017.otcnet.org

Norshipping May 30 – June 2 Oslo, Norway For more than 50 years Nor-Shipping has been the activity-filled event that attracts key maritime industry players from across the world. The presence of leading figures from the entire maritime value chain makes Nor-Shipping a recognised arena for strategic deal making and networking. nor-shipping.com

Arctic Patrol & Reconnaissance 2017 May 31 – June 1 Copenhagen, Denmark This event will be a critical chance to lay the groundwork for enhanced regional security in the High North.

For Coast Guards and SAR organisations, the rise in regional activity has increased demand, imposing new and growing requirements for patrol and situational awareness arcticpatrolandrecon.iqpc.co.uk Caspian Oil & Gas May 31 – June 3 Baku, Azerbaijan With more than 200 international exhibitors Caspian Oil & Gas is the largest event in the Caspian region.

Companies from China, Georgia, Germany, Iran, Russia, The Netherlands, Turkey, Uzbekistan, etc. will take part in this year’s exhibition. Issues of further development for Azerbaijan’s oil and gas industry in today’s realities, Azerbaijan’s role in maintaining energy supplies to Europe, ensuring environmental and industrial safety, and other subjects will be covered. caspianoilgas.az

NOIA’s (Newfoundland & Labrador Oil & Gas Industries Association) annual event is the largest offshore conference in Canada and this year’s event will offer over 1000 delegates with crucial information on trends and business opportunities across the East Coast Canada oil & gas industry. In the last four years, over C$2.7 billion have been invested in exploration expenditure, including C$757 million in 2016. This clearly demonstrates that the Newfoundland and Labrador deepwater region is a desirable investment area for global E&P companies. In fact, even in a time of low oil prices, Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore oil & gas industry has seen seven new entrants in the past 18 months.

Major Projects 2017 Monday, June 5 Delta Hotel St. John’s, Newfoundland At the event, Atlantic Provinces Economic Council (APEC) will be releasing the 2017 edition of its Major Projects Inventory, which consistently receives strong approval ratings as a source of competitive-edge information to assist business planning, forecasting and project leads.

Highlights of the event include a keynote presentation by Statoil Canada and details of the $120 billion+ of investment activity proposed in Atlantic Canada. www.noia.ca

Delegates will have a unique opportunity to hear from senior engineers and officials from oil companies and operators including Nexen, BP, ExxonMobil Canada, Husky Energy, Nalcor Energy, Navitas Petroleum, Statoil and Suncor Energy. It’s an exciting time to be involved in the offshore business across the east coast of Canada. www.noiaconference.com

Yamal Oil & Gas 6th International Forum and Exhibition June 7 – 9 Salekhard, Russia ‘Yamal Oil and Gas’ is the only

NOIA Oil & Gas 2017 June 19 - 22 St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador,

international conference dedicated to the booming Yamal oil and gas industry. Yamal is a hub of largescale E&P, refining, LNG and infrastructure projects. Meet 300+ industry leaders, including more than 70 heads of international and Russian oil and gas majors, investors, world’s leading technology and equipment providers. www.yamaloilandgas.com Inuvik Petroleum Show June 12 – 14 Inuvik, Northwest Territories, Canada After over a decade of hosting the Inuvik Petroleum Show, the Town of Inuvik is pleased to present the 2nd annual Arctic Energy and Emerging Technologies (AEET) Conference and Tradeshow to take place every June in Inuvik, Northwest Territories. www.inuvikarcticenergy.com 13th MIOGE Russian Petroleum & Gas Congress June 27 – 29 Moscow Over the past decade MIOGE (Russian Petroleum & Gas Congress) has become a central meeting place to help oil and gas professionals gain more technical knowledge on how to find new opportunities in Russia. www.oilgas-events.com/RPGCCongress/ Arctic Energy Summit September 18 – 20 Helsinki, Finland The three-day agenda will include such issues as oil and gas; geothermal energy; solar energy; wind energy; hydropower and tidal energy; utilities; micro-grids; energy policy and regulation; local community impact; energy financing and investment; and climate change and energy security. arcticenergysummit.com

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