Abstract
The Arctic region is expected to hold large volumes of oil and gas, and development of these resources is often assumed to be technologically and economically challenging. These challenges however, vary widely across the region, and many challenges can be managed safely and efficiently if addressed early.
Statoil views the Arctic region in relation to three categories; Workable, Stretch and Extreme, reflecting commercial and technological challenges. Within these categories, safety and sustainability are considered as part of evaluation for access targets and opportunities. This is followed up through planning of exploration and development operations, where safety and sustainability related risks are addressed early to ensure appropriate mitigating actions.
Statoil has been operating in the Arctic region and in harsh environments for many years, and where Statoil's current core positions are in the Workable Arctic. Early focus on safety and sustainability related risks and risk factors across the company portfolio leads to improved quality and robustness in risk management. This focus leads to identification of key enablers, including fact-based science and technology development needs, as well as shorter term operational measures.
This paper will show how Statoil maintains an overview of risks in the Arctic, and some of the key enablers identified to manage safety and sustainability related risks and support activity within Statoil's business areas. The building of risk assessment tools for environmental management and decision support, together with methods for efficient environmental monitoring has contributed to increased understanding of the Arctic ecosystem. Qualification of technology to advance Arctic oil-spill response capability is a high priority. Ice management, including methods for ice detection in low visibility and improved management of sea ice and icebergs, and development of a numerical model for icing and snow are examples of technology-related risk mitigation. In the operational safety perspective, risk mitigation is mainly related to Arctic working environment measures and logistics planning (EER).
The conclusion of this paper underlines the importance of early risk identification to ensure development of competence and understanding of the safety and sustainability challenges, and shows how this approach has led to safe and efficient operations in the Arctic.
