Arctic

Though production of oil and gas from the Arctic has been carried out for some decades, increased awareness of its fragile environment means we need to work differently. In the Arctic environment having sophisticated ‘spill’ technology and reducing the size of drillships to minimise impact are just two of the essentials. And technology is helping us in both areas.

Stopping spills
Multiple small solutions are helping reduce the risk or impact of any oil leakage in to the ocean.  For example, underwater pipelines are buried metres under the seabed so that they cannot be broken open by floating ice. Leak detection technology and multiple valves systems will stop any flow of oil if a drop in pressure is detected in the pipes.  Should leakage occur, a tool developed with the help of Finland’s Environmental Institute gets around the problem: The tool helps remove oil that has come to rest on blocks of ice by moving the ice up and down to dislodge the oil into the water where it can be taken away by a kind of conveyor belt. In non-Arctic conditions Booms would be used to contain oil floating on water, but Booms cannot contain oil on ice.

Bully rig superimposed on Enterprise Class drill ship

Scaling down
A new drillship concept, developed by Shell engineers also has applications for the Arctic that will help minimise impact while accessing resources.  The ‘Bully Rig’ drillship is 25 per cent smaller and 60 per cent lighter than comparable capacity drillships.  This makes it more energy efficient and so less polluting.  It has an ice-class hull that puts increased protection between the sea and its cargo.  And while the Bully Rig can drill in 4,000 metres (12,000 ft) of water, it can navigate water depths of just 16 metres (around 50 ft).