NE Greenland Stratigraphic Coring Project 2008

Erik Lundin

The NE Greenland Stratigraphic Coring Project 2008 was the second multi-icebreaker Arctic coring project of its kind. Statoil acted as operator on behalf of the Kanumas group, consisting of BP, Chevron, ExxonMobil, JOGMEC, Shell, Statoil, and Nunaoil. The project was conducted in very short time, starting with planning in the summer 2007, and finishing with the operational part in July 2008. Two vessels were involved, the Baltic class ice breaker and drill ship Vidar Viking and the Polar class supporting ice breaker Oden. Fugro Seacore’s R-100 rig, built for ACEX, was re-mounted over Vidar Viking’s moonpool. Nine boreholes were drilled in 28 days, penetrating a total of 731 meters. Of this, 406 meters was drilled with the aim to recover core, and the average recovery was approximately 75%. The overall operational efficiency was approximately 95%, and the drill ship Vidar Viking operated on Dynamic Positioning 100% of the time. The project was highly successful, fulfilling the predefined geologic goals without any damages to people, environment, or equipment. The safe execution of the project is attributed to risk assessment and mitigations. With respect to ship safety, vessels of appropriate ice breaking capability were chosen, and were mastered by very experienced masters and officers, supported by skilled ice management staff. Environmental risks associated with the coring operations were minimized by using environmentally friendly and biodegradable fluids, such as synthetic hydraulic oil in the derrick, guar gum-based drilling mud, and non-acid biostratigraphic analysis. Pre-departure medical screening of all participants and a fully equipped medical hospital staffed with a surgeon ensured extremely high medical safety standards. The technical success and efficiency of the project can be attributed to: Building on the experience gained during the 2004 Arctic Coring Expedition (ACEX) as well as on general polar experience of the chosen participants. Thorough preparations and execution, particularly around-the-clock monitoring of the ice and weather conditions by onboard meteorologists and ice management staff. The ability to remain one or two “steps ahead” of ice and weather changes by applying a unique ice management methodology, combined with the flexibility provided by having alternative locations for each geologic target. Utilizing the Kongsberg multibeam scanner and sub-bottom profiler to assess the seabed before drilling started and thereby fine-tune borehole positions.

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