The Shtokman gas field is one of the world’s largest, with 113 Tcf to 131 Tcf (3.2 Tcm to 3.7 Tcm) of gas and more than 227 million bbl (31 million tons) of gas condensate. Although discovered in 1988, it was not developed at the time, largely because of its location 1,050 ft (320 m) under the surface of the ice-cold Barents Sea, 373 miles (600 km) north of Russia’s Kola Peninsula.

Recent plans to develop Shtokman are based on Europe’s hunger for gas, the kind of hunger that is also driving interest in oil and gas plays in other parts of the Arctic.

To some members of the international oil and gas industry, this may seem like “Back to the

Harsh Arctic conditions, in winter and summer, can wreak havoc with logistics and oil and gas operations. (Photo courtesy of Golder Associates)
Future” as they think of the similarly ambitious plans in the 1970s and ’80s to develop fields offshore the Beaufort Sea in northern Canada. “Smilin’ Jack” Gallagher of Dome Petroleum and his “magic lantern” shows would dazzle investors and bankers with tales of vast reserves of high-grade oil and gas in Dome’s properties under the Beaufort. Other companies staked out their own properties as well. However, the excitement of the early 1980s faded, partly due to the plentiful supplies in other parts of the world that posed fewer production and development challenges.

Recently, rising demand for Arctic resources has members of the oil and gas sectors taking a growing interest in oil and gas plays in the upper latitudes. This is causing some to ask what’s different about this part of the world and what skills will be needed by successful oil and gas companies who may be accustomed to working in more southern locations.

Solving the ice challenge
A good example of the challenges facing oil and gas companies in the Arctic comes from the need for drilling platforms to access offshore reservoirs. The jackup and semisubmersible rigs that succeed in the relatively warm North Sea or Gulf of Mexico will not stand up to the press of Arctic sea ice and icebergs.

The answer in the 1980s Beaufort Sea was, in most cases, sand islands built with material dredged from the ocean floor. These islands were quite effective at dealing with the drifting ice sheets, which would just grind to a halt on the island’s slope, keeping the drilling rig and buildings safe. However, they were vulnerable to wave action during the summers; a one- or two-day wind storm might well wash away most of the island. Various methods of reinforcing the islands against wave action were expensive and not very successful (concrete blocks resisted wave action but could not survive ice forces).

Current environmental standards could make it difficult to disturb so much of the ocean bed through dredging or place timing restrictions that limit construction periods.
On the other hand, the industry has made great advances in horizontal and directional drilling since the Beaufort’s heyday, meaning that one production platform may be able to produce hydrocarbons from a much larger part of a reservoir, so that fewer drilling and production platforms are needed.

There have also been many improvements in submersible robotics, as seen in the North Sea; remotely operated vehicles that would have been science fiction just a few years ago now perform tasks such as pipeline and electrical connections that would otherwise require a human diver. More improvements in subsea operations, so that work can be done below the ice, are needed.
Docking facilities are another challenge. Due to the lack of road access in much of the Arctic and the expense of air transport, coastal operations can best be serviced by ocean-going vessels, including barges. However, building a dock that will stand up to the drift of sea ice and icebergs is no easy task. A ship breaking its way through floating ice toward a dock will also create its own pressure on the ice that may damage or destroy the dock.
One of the most successful designs seems to be a ring of sheet piles — sheets of metal driven vertically into the ocean floor, with the space in the center (perhaps 30 yards in diameter) filled with sediment to form a heavy gravity structure.

Weather and climate change
Climate change, most noticeable in the polar regions, is showing up in the form of increased periods of open water, during which time artificial islands and other structures are more vulnerable to wave action including wave-induced erosion.

As well, those waves are likely to get larger — partly a function of larger areas of open water leaving more space for waves to grow, and also due to more extreme weather events that mean stronger winds. The erosive power of a wave increases as a square of its height increase, making a wave only slightly larger able to erode an artificial island much more quickly.

More unpredictable weather, and more extreme events, will cause increasing challenges for Arctic operations. On a positive note, we have greater technical ability to forecast weather due to better computer-based models and better weather data based in part on satellite imagery.

However, one of the difficulties of Arctic weather forecasting is the relative lack of on-the-ground meteorological data. In more populated areas it is relatively easy to extrapolate weather conditions offshore using measurements derived from onshore weather stations, but in the Arctic, few of these stations exist.

Extrapolation of wind fields to be able to predict wave conditions offshore adds further uncertainty and risk to design and operation of offshore structures.

Better forecasting will allow for more realistic plans — if a multiday storm is forecast, it may be helpful to hasten delivery of consumables such as drill pipe to allow operations to continue. More field measurements of waves during extreme events would also assist in design of offshore structures.

Indigenous people
As well as climate, distances and unique engineering challenges, work in the Arctic generally means a growing need to build good relations with indigenous peoples. Among the Sami people of northern Scandinavia, Finland and Northeast Russia, for example, reindeer-herding is a major source of wealth as well as cultural identity. Resource extraction must be done in a way that protects this aspect of their lives.

In Canada, “First Nations” people also consider it important for resource companies to respect the land and the wildlife.

In many parts of the world including the Arctic, indigenous people are faced with economic marginalization and may gain little benefit from the wealth extracted from the areas where they live. Now some of these people are looking for a way to earn their share of the advantage resource extraction brings. In Canada, for example, many First Nations entities have formed companies that provide environmental remediation and monitoring as well as more complex services such as charter aircraft and regularly scheduled air service. Oil and gas companies can help build better relations with indigenous people — and gain their support — through supporting economic participation through sub-contracting and hiring practices. Sometimes, this means investing in education, training and job-readiness programs.

Professional services
Given the complex issues of working in the Arctic, oil and gas companies need to be sure that they have access to professionals with the right skills and contacts. In many cases, this means professionals who have demonstrated a commitment to Arctic operations.
There is much wealth available in the Arctic, provided those seeking it are prepared to invest the time and effort to learn about the realities ahead of time and develop their plans with those realities in mind.