PANORAMA – A New 6-years Program for German Frontier Exploration in the Offshore Arctic

Volkmar Damm

The German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) undertakes geological investigations as part of research projects, in particular along the continental margins and in so-called frontier areas. Research work in the circum-Arctic shelf contributes to close gaps in geological knowledge, with a view to subsequent commercial exploration projects. The institute’s advanced survey work is carried out sustainably and shall substantiate assessments of the economic potential also with regard to ecological risks of future commercial exploitation activities. The European sector of the Arctic Ocean is one of the main frontier areas for hydrocarbon exploration. Currently, more than 70% of the natural gas annually consumed in DE is imported from coastal states of the Arctic Ocean. Because of its vicinity to the European mainland the region is expected to play an important role for DE’s future energy supply. Over the last decades BGR conducted numerous onshore and offshore research projects in the Arctic to study the structural inventory and plate tectonic evolution of the circum-Arctic fold belts. Results of these investigations are a prerequisite to estimate the resource potential of this frontier area. Within the framework program PANORAMA (Potentialanalyse des Europäischen Nordmeeres und angrenzender Randmeere der Arktis) BGR, along with other European and non-European partners, strives in a first step to complete the basic information required for a reliable assessment of the hydrocarbon potential (oil and gas deposits) of the European sector of the Arctic. Within the period 2013 – 2018 five research cruises are planned to complete the geoscientific database of the region. Special focus will be given to the Northeast Greenland margin, the East Greenland margin including Jan Mayen, the Northwest Barents Sea and the West Barents Sea margin. Further, these investigations and assessment studies will form the source for subsequent or simultaneous analysis of possible impacts which could arise from the economic development as well as with regard to the ecological risk and damage potential. All this, finally, strengthens BGR’s capacity to provide expert advise to the German Government based on state-of-the-art science for decisions and resolutions according to the general principle of sustainability. The presentation gives an overview of previous BGR activities in the Arctic, demonstrates the content and shows the target areas of the framework program PANORAMA, and illustrates details and schedule of the individual research projects.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90177©3P Arctic, Polar Petroleum Potential Conference & Exhibition, Stavanger, Norway, October 15-18, 2013