Petroleum Potential of the Arctic: Challenges and Solutions

Oilfield Review Winter 2010/2011: 22, no. 4. Copyright © 2011 Schlumberger. For help in preparation of this article, thanks to Yuliya Ekgardt, Gazprom dobycha Yamburg LLC, Novy Urengoy, Russia; Hannes Grobe, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany; Patrick McGinn, ExxonMobil, Houston; Jeffrey Philipp, Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada; Steve Rinehart, BP Alaska, Anchorage; Betty Tsang, Calgary; and Alexander Zarkhidze, Cairo. ARCTICSET, CleanGEL, DAD, FracCAT, GelSTREAK, PCM, PetroMod, PodSTREAK, Q-Land, UniQ, VDA and YF are marks of Schlumberger. The Arctic region has drawn attention since ancient times—attention well beyond mere curiosity about the great unknown. Fur, fin and feather from the Arctic coasts were the earliest attractions, enticing people from other regions to these frigid waters and icy expanses. Legendary treasures in distant Asian lands and the long, difficult and often dangerous southern sea route to obtain them impelled European travelers to dream about alternative paths and turn their eyes to the north. Starting in the 16th century, explorers sought the Northwest Passage to the Pacific Ocean along the north coast of North America, as well as a Northern Sea Route along the north coast of Eurasia, often guided by fantastic notions of the geography of the region (next page). In the late 19th century, exploration of these northern territories reached the highest latitude: the North Pole. These far-reaching adventures and discoveries further enabled active scientific and commercial enterprises. The age of oil was coming, and explorationists extended their interest to even more-remote areas in a quest for what is now considered one of the greatest treasures of the Arctic—hydrocarbon reserves. This article reviews the first hydrocarbon discoveries in the Arctic and describes recent estimates of its oil and gas reserves. The difficulties of Arctic exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons are similar to those of subarctic and other extremely cold climates; this article also discusses the existing solutions and novel technologies created to address these challenges.