A Review Of Canadian Frontier Technology Advances In The Search For Oil And Gas
Authors: Pidcock G.A. , Watson D.W. 
Published: March 2010

Exploration activity in Canada's frontier areas started in the early 1960s and has resulted in the discovery of several large oil and gas reservoirs. This paper gives an overview of recent technology advancements in the areas of exploration and drilling. Production and transportation facilities for three crude oil offshore development projects are described to illustrate the innovative technologies being developed to cope with the harsh physical environments in which the developments are located.

Introduction

Canada's frontier regions include the MacKenzie Delta - Beaufort Sea, the Arctic Islands and the east coast continental shelf, offshore of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia as shown in Figure 1. Environmental conditions are severe with ice being the major feature that differentiates Canada's Northern and Grand Banks offshore areas from other offshore regions. While the Scotian Shelf area is subject to severe winter storms, ice intrusions are rare. In spite of the environmental conditions, over 500 exploration wells have been successfully drilled over the past 25 years. This activity has resulted in the discovery of numerous oil and gas reservoirs, several of which are in various stages of evaluation and development.

Significant technological advancements have been made in recent years in the areas of exploration and drilling. Innovative features must be incorporated into the design, construction and operation of production and transportation facilities in order to accommodate the harsh environmental conditions. This paper discusses the technology which has been developed for the Northern and Grand Banks frontier areas, where sea ice and icebergs present a unique challenge to hydrocarbon exploration and production activities.

Environmental Conditions

The primary environmental constraint in the Beaufort Sea is sea ice, as the area is usually ice covered for at least nine months of the year. Open water conditions exist for two or three months per year but heavy, multi-year ice intrusions are possible at any time. In winter, pressure-ridged landfast ice forms to the 20 m water depth contour. Sporadically moving pack ice is present in deeper water. Sea bottom scouring by ice features is common in water depths to 40 m. The long winter nights are characterized by bitter cold and poor visibility.

Sea ice is also the most severe environmental problem in the Arctic Islands region. Thick, ridged, multi-year ice is present year round. The ice in the inter-island area is confined and landfast for most of the year with some small sporadic movements. Break-up and ice drifting can occur in some years. There is the potential for seabed scouring by ice ridge keels in shallow water areas. Activities in this region must contend with extremely cold temperatures, wind chill and poor visibility for much of the year.

The environment of the Grand Banks region, offshore Newfoundland, is similar to the North Sea in terms of sea state, winds and currents. The unique environmental characteristic of the region is the seasonal occurrence of icebergs and sea ice. Structural icing, fog and poor visibility are additional adverse environmental conditions. Icebergs pose a collision hazard with fixed or floating systems.