In 2008, the US Geological Survey completed an assessment of undiscovered conventional oil and gas resources in all areas north of the Arctic Circle.
This indicated that “90 billion barrels of oil, 1,669 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids may remain to be found in the Arctic, of which approximately 84 percent is expected to occur in offshore areas” (USGS Fact Sheet 2008-3049).
The potential investments and business opportunities associated with these undiscovered oil and gas resources are now being actively pursued by several operators in the energy industry, with a focus on developing appropriate technologies for safe and sustainable exploration and operations in the Arctic. In particular, the design of Arctic offshore structures is a discipline undergoing continuous development, and DNVRI has initiated a Joint Industry Project (JIP) called ICESTRUCT which aims to contribute to these advances.
The most severe ice effects on Arctic offshore structures are normally caused by ice-structure interactions and these must be addressed by the designer so that appropriate design loads can be quantified. Accordingly, a new ISO Standard 19906, “Petrochemical and Natural Gas Industries: Arctic Offshore Structures”, has been developed and is currently in the process of being finalised for publication. The objectives of the ICESTRUCT JIP are: (i) to help the non-specialist designer to comply with the normative provisions of ISO 19906, and (ii) to supplement ISO 19906 by addressing selected gaps that have been identified therein.
The JIP is headed by DNVRI and sponsored by key international operators and engineering companies. By 1 April 2010 the JIP had 22 sponsors, including work-in-kind participants, representing 11 countries. The JIP is expected to be finished by January 2012.