Environmental Conditions in the Canadian Arctic And Related Research Activities
Authors: Hnatiuk John 
Published: December 2007

This paper was prepared for the 48th Annual Fall Meeting of the Society of Petroleum Engineers of AIME, to be held in Las Vegas, Nev., Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1973. Permission to copy is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words. Illustrations may not be copied. The abstract should contain conspicuous acknowledgment of where and by whom the paper is presented. Publication elsewhere after publication in the JOURNAL OF PETROLEUM TECHNOLOGY or the SOCIETY OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERS JOURNAL is usually granted upon request to the Editor of the appropriate journal provided agreement to give proper credit is made.

Discussion of this paper is invited. Three copies of any discussion should be sent to the Society of Petroleum Engineers office. Such discussion may be presented at the above meeting and, with the paper, may be considered for publication in one of the two SPE magazines.

Future drilling and production in the hostile Arctic environment require further extension of existing technology and unique solutions to problems associated with the ecology, sensitive terrain, permafrost, drilling, sea ice, icebergs, sea-bottom conditions, climate and logistics. Research costs in the Arctic are inherently high due to remoteness, severe climate, difficult operating conditions and complexity of problems. In order to obtain more information for the research monies available and to avoid unnecessary duplication, Canadian industry has successfully undertaken many research projects on a joint basis during the past 3 years through the Arctic Petroleum past 3 years through the Arctic Petroleum Operators' Assn. In order to obtain sufficient funding, the majority of the results are kept confidential for a period of 5 years. In addition to reducing cost to individual companies, joint research has increased the quantity and quality of the research results and has assured a broad look at problems.

The environmental conditions in the Canadian Arctic are described, particularly as they pertain to exploration and production activities. pertain to exploration and production activities. Recent research undertaken to develop the necessary operating technology is described. Research projects include sea ice strength, cove and movement, and geometry of ice features such as pressure ridges and ice islands. Sea-bottom studies include soil composition and strength and sea-bottom scouring by ice features. Feasibility studies regarding seasonal and year-round exploratory drilling are described. Studies of vehicular traffic on tundra, ecological studies and wildlife studies are briefly described. The total cost of the joint research projects is now approximately $3 million. The projects is now approximately $3 million. The specific results of these research projects are necessarily described only in broad terms.

Introduction

Exploration for hydrocarbons in Canada's Arctic has intensified following increasing demands for oil and gas, the discovery of Prudhoe Bay and drilling success in the Prudhoe Bay and drilling success in the Mackenzie River Delta and Arctic Islands. The Arctic, referred to here as generally the area above the treeline, is a hostile environment and costs of exploration are several times those in more southerly areas. Production and transportation costs will also be very high, but the potential of the area for large and prolific reservoirs is exciting and warrants the large capital investment and development of new technology to cope with the harsh and challenging environment.