Petroleum exploration in the Arctic

The exploration of the Arctic for petroleum is considered more technically challenging than in any other environment so far. However, technological development,
high oil prices and melting of ice due to global warming
allow for exploration. As a result, the region has been
receiving interest from the petroleum industry.

were drilled at billions of dollars of cost, approximately

1.9 billion barrels (300106 m3 ) of oil and 19.8 trillion cubic feet (560109 m3 ) of natural gas were found.
These discoveries were insucient to justify development, and all the wells which were drilled were plugged
and abandoned.

Drilling in the Canadian Arctic turned out to be expensive and dangerous. The geology of the Canadian Arctic
turned out to be far more complex than oil-producing regions like the Gulf of Mexico. It was discovered to be gas
prone rather than oil prone (i.e. most of the oil had been
transformed into natural gas by geological processes), and
A 2008 United States Geological Survey estimates that most of the reservoirs had been fractured by tectonic acwhich might at one
areas north of the Arctic Circle have 90 billion barrels of tivity, allowing most of the petroleum
[4]
time
have
been
present
to
leak
out.
undiscovered, technically recoverable oil (and 44 billion
barrels of natural gas liquids ) in 25 geologically dened
areas thought to have potential for petroleum. This represents 13% of the undiscovered oil in the world. Of the 2 Russia
estimated totals, more than half of the undiscovered oil
resources are estimated to occur in just three geologic In June 2007, a group of Russian geologists returned from
provinces - Arctic Alaska, the Amerasia Basin, and the a six-week voyage on a nuclear icebreaker 50 Let Pobedy,
East Greenland Rift Basins.[1][2][3]
the expedition called Arktika 2007. They had travelled
More than 70% of the mean undiscovered oil resources is to the Lomonosov ridge, an underwater shelf in Russia's
estimated to occur in ve provinces: Arctic Alaska, Am- remote and inhospitable eastern Arctic Ocean.
There are 19 geological basins making up the Arctic region. Some of these basins have experienced oil and gas
exploration, most notably the Alaska North Slope where
oil was rst produced in 1968 from Prudhoe Bay. However, only half the basins - such as the Beaufort Sea and
the West Barents Sea - have been explored.

erasia Basin, East Greenland Rift Basins, East Barents

Basins, and West GreenlandEast Canada. It is further
estimated that approximately 84% of the undiscovered
oil and gas occurs oshore. The USGS did not consider
economic factors such as the eects of permanent sea ice
or oceanic water depth in its assessment of undiscovered
oil and gas resources. This assessment is lower than a
2000 survey, which had included lands south of the arctic circle.[1][2][3]

According to Russias media, the geologists returned with

the sensational news that the Lomonosov ridge was
linked to Russian Federation territory, boosting Russias
claim over the oil-and-gas rich triangle. The territory
contained 10bn tonnes of gas and oil deposits, the scientists said.[5]

In the early 2012 Russia plans to start the rst commercial oshore oil drilling in the Arctic, on Prirazlomnaya
platform in the Pechora Sea.[6] The platform will be the
A recent study carried out by Wood Mackenzie on the rst Arctic-class ice-resistant oil rig in the world.
Arctic potential comments that the likely remaining reserves will be 75% natural gas and 25% oil . It highlights
four basins that are likely to be the focus of the petroleum 3 Greenland
industry in the upcoming years: the Kronprins Christian
Basin, which is likely to have large reserves, the southwest
Greenland is believed by some geologists to have some of
Greenland basin, due to its proximity to markets, and the
the worlds largest remaining oil resources.[7] Prospecting
more oil-prone basins of Laptev and Ban Bay.
is taking place under the auspices of NUNAOIL, a partnership between the Greenland Home Rule Government
and the Danish state. U.S. Geological Survey found in
2001 that the waters o north-eastern Greenland (north
1 Canada
and south of the arctic circle) could contain up to 110
[8]
9
3
Extensive drilling was done in the Canadian Arctic during billion barrels (1710 m ) of oil.
the 1970s and 1980s by such companies as Panarctic Oils Greenland has oered 8 license blocks for tender along its
Ltd., Petro Canada and Dome Petroleum. After 176 wells west coast by Ban Bay. Currently 7 of those blocks have
1

been bid for by a combination of multinational oil com- industrial shing and conict.[16]
panies and the National Oil Company NUNAOIL. Companies that have participated successfully in the previous
license rounds and have formed a partnership for the li- 7 Geological basins
censes with NUNAOIL are, DONG Energy, Chevron,
ExxonMobil, Husky Energy, Cairn Energy. The area
North Slope
available known as the West Disko licensing round is of
an interest due to its relative accessibility compared to
Beaufort Sea
other Arctic basins as the area remains largely free of ice.
South Arctic Islands
As well as a number of promising geological leads and
prospects from the Paleocene era.
Franklinian Sendrup

REFERENCES

in the Arctic

Ban Bay

United States (Alaska)

Prudhoe Bay Oil Field on Alaska's North Slope is the

largest oil eld in North America,[9] The eld was discovered on March 12, 1968, by Atlantic Richeld Company
(ARCO) and is operated by BP; partners are ExxonMobil
and ConocoPhillips Alaska.
In September 2012 Shell delayed actual oil drilling in
the Chukchi until the following summer due to heavierthan-normal ice and the Arctic Challenger, an oil-spill response vessel, not being ready on time.[10] However, on
September 23, Shell began drilling a top-hole over its
Burger prospect in the Chukchi. And on October 3, Shell
began drilling a top-hole over its Sivulliq prospect in the
Beaufort Sea, after being notied by the Alaska Eskimo
Whaling Commission that drilling could begin.[11]
In September, 2012, Statoil chose to delay its oil exploration plans at its Amundsen prospect in the Chukchi Sea,
about 100 miles northwest of Wainwright, Alaska, by at
least one year, to 2015 at the earliest.[12]
As of October, 2012, Conoco still plans to drill at its
Devils Paw prospect (part of a 2008 lease buy in the
Chukchi Sea 120 miles west of Wainwright) in summer
of 2013.[13]
October 11, 2012, Dep. Secretary of the Department of
the Interior David Hayes stated that support for the permitting process for Arctic oshore petroleum drilling will
continue if President Obama stays in oce.[14]

Labrador Shelf
Southwest Greenland
North Greenland
Kronprins Christian Basin
West Barents Sea
East Barents Sea
North Kara Sea
South Kara Sea
Laptev Sea
East Siberian Sea
Hope Basin
North Chukchi Sea
Pechora Sea

8 See also
Territorial Claims in the Arctic
Arctic Refuge drilling controversy
Natural resources of the Arctic
Arctic cooperation and politics

Norway
9 References

Rosneft and Statoil made the Arctic exploration deal in

May 2012. It is the third deal Rosneft has signed in
the past month, after Arctic exploration agreements with
Italys Eni and US giant Exxon Mobil.[15]

Environmental

Greenpeace have launched the Save the Arctic Project

since the melting Arctic is under threat from oil drilling,

[1] United States Geological Survey, (USGS) (July 27, 2008).

90 Billion Barrels of Oil and 1,670 Trillion Cubic Feet
of Natural Gas Assessed in the Arctic. USGS. Retrieved
2008-08-12.
[2] MOUAWAD, JAD (July 24, 2008). Oil Survey Says
Arctic Has Riches. New York Times.
[3] Alan Bailey (October 21, 2007). USGS: 25% Arctic
oil, gas estimate a reporters mistake. Vol. 12, No. 42.
Petroleum News. Retrieved 2008-07-24.

[4] Jaremko, Gordon (April 4, 2008). Arctic fantasies need

reality check: Geologist knows risks of northern exploration. The Edmonton Journal. Retrieved 2008-08-18.
[5] Harding, Luke (June 28, 2007). Kremlin lays claim to
huge chunk of oil-rich North Pole. The Guardian (London). Retrieved May 22, 2010.
[6] Prirazlomnaya moves to the Pechora Sea Sevmash ocial
site (Russian)
[7] Overlooking the worlds largest island, The Copenhagen
Post, 17 April 2008
[8] Allagui, Slim (July 16, 2006). Greenland Makes Oil
Companies Melt. Agence France-Presse. Retrieved
2008-08-31.
[9] Prudhoe Bay Fact Sheet. BP. August 2006. (Adobe Acrobat *.PDF document)
[10] Everything You Need to Know About Shell Oil and Arctic
Oshore Drilling in Alaska
[11] Shell starts exploratory drilling in Beaufort Sea
[12] Statoil Delays Chukchi Exploration
[13] Conoco forging ahead with Arctic drilling plans for summer of 2014
[14] Interior Dept. ocial pledges continued support for Arctic drilling
[15] Rosneft and Statoil in Arctic exploration deal 6 May 2012
[16] Save Arctic Project Greenpeace

10

External links

Murray, A. 2006. Arctic oers chilly welcome.

E&P, December, 2006 Arctic Video
Assessment of Undiscovered Oil and Gas in the
Arctic Science 29 May 2009: Vol. 324 no. 5931
pp. 11751179 doi:10.1126/science.1169467

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