Summary
Exploration and development of hydrocarbon reserves in the arctic seas are
challenged by a harsh environment including the presence of ice and icebergs,
permafrost, low temperatures, and extended periods of darkness.
Remoteness and ecological considerations make activities in the arctic even
more difficult. Advanced technologies, nontraditional technical
solutions, and flawless execution are required to make any major project in the
arctic a success.
Understanding the difficulties associated with implementing an offshore
project in the arctic comes with experience. In ExxonMobil’s case, this
is a result of 40 years of arctic field operations and associated
research. This paper discusses the arctic technologies developed to
support ExxonMobil exploration and development activities in the Arctic
seas.
ExxonMobil’s Arctic offshore activity started in 1966 with the installation
of the ice-resistant Granite Point offshore platform, which is still producing
oil in Cook Inlet, Alaska. Since then, ExxonMobil has constructed and
drilled from artificial islands in shallow-arctic waters; drilled in
iceberg-prone regions off Greenland, Canada, and Norway; designed and installed
the first iceberg-resistant gravity-based platform on the Grand Banks;
installed an ice-resistant production platform and the first in-ice Single
Point Mooring (SPM) offshore loading facility offshore Sakhalin Island; and
continued to develop methodology to provide rational design criteria for
ice-resistant production platforms. Development of design criteria and
the selection of the most reliable and cost-effective technical solutions for
arctic offshore projects required data from numerous field expeditions, model
test programs, field measurements, and observations from existing offshore
structures. These studies were carried out under the supervision of
ExxonMobil research staff.
Arctic marine transportation systems are also an important element for many
offshore and near-shore projects in remote areas where the construction of
export pipelines is prohibitively expensive. The 1969–1970
Manhattan tanker trials in the US and Canadian arctic and the 2002
Primorye trials in the Tatar Strait have helped ExxonMobil develop safe
and reliable technologies for hydrocarbon transportation in ice-infested
waters.
Introduction
The oil and gas industry has relatively little experience with exploring and
developing hydrocarbon resources in cold, ice-covered offshore areas.
This is mainly because conventional offshore technologies developed by the
industry over the years for the ice-free seas have a limited application in the
arctic seas. One can use conventional techniques to drill exploration and
production wells or acquire seismic in arctic seas during the summer to fall
ice-free season. However, in many areas of interest, such a season is
fairly short (2 to 3 months or less). If the lease owners rely on
conventional technologies only, the pace of arctic offshore exploration and
development will be extremely slow, adversely affecting project
economics. The ability to conduct year-round or nearly year-round
operations in the arctic is thus essential to overall project success. To do
this effectively, new technologies had to be developed and tested. The
present paper discusses some of the ExxonMobil arctic technologies originally
developed and used in the Beaufort Sea, which are technologies also applicable
in similar environments elsewhere in the world, including Russia.
© 2007. Society of Petroleum Engineers
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History
- Original manuscript received:
16 September 2006
- Meeting paper published:
3 October 2006
- Revised manuscript received:
28 February 2007
- Manuscript approved:
8 March 2007
- Version of record:
20 June 2007
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