The drilling will take place South of the Arctic Ice
Three of the UK’s ‘big six’ energy companies have secured licenses to drill for oil and gas in the Norwegian Arctic, whilst oil major Shell also expanded its rights in the region.
British Gas owner Centrica and German giants E.ON and RWE/Npower have secured rights to explore in the Norwegian Barents Sea as part of the Norwegian government’s 22nd licensing round.
If they find oil and gas it would they would be operating further north in Norwegian waters than ever before.
Shell has also secured rights to drill during the round - but in a region far further south and closer to the Norwegian coast.
The blocks are in areas where the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research recommended either a partial or total drilling ban to protect marine wildlife including the world's largest remaining cod fish stocks.
The Directorate for Nature Management also advised against licensing some of the blocks - including a exploration block operated by Shell - due to the risk of a spill affecting sensitive sea bird populations.
The directorate also warned that a spill could spread impacting fragile bird populations on the Bear Island Nature Reserve.
The warnings were particularly stark for the block operated by E.ON where both agencies strongly advised against any drilling operations.
The Norwegian government ultimately decided to license the regions against the advise of these agencies.
Greenpeace's Arctic campaigner Ben Ayliffe said: "Not content with sucking their customers dry, half of the big six energy suppliers have now turned their attention to the Arctic."
"Because of its remote location and the extreme conditions, an oil spill in the Arctic would be virtually impossible to clean up. On top of that the cold water makes it's harder for the oil to degrade, meaning its stays in the environment longer. That's why a big oil spill in the Arctic would be catastrophic – for the humans who live there and the wildlife they share it with."
British gas
The move sees Centrica partner up with Russian oil giant Lukoil to hunt for oil and gas in the northerly waters.
The so-called ‘Scarecrow’ license will be operated by the UK gas giant though Lukoil has also secured the rights to operate in Norwegian arctic waters.
The Institute for Marine Research advised against drilling in the region between March and August in order to protect fragile spawning grounds and the world's largest remaining cod stocks.
It also said that the firm must operate a zero emissions policy avoiding any discharges into the sea bed.
However it is not clear how this will be enforced. A recent statement by the Norwegian Petroleum Safety Authority said some drill cuttings and drill fluid from the top hole section could be released.
RWE and EON
EON's block, which it shares with Statoil, Conoco Philips and Petero is the most controversial.
Both Norwegian conservation bodies advised the government and regulators that drilling should not take place in the region due to the risk of a spill on marine life and sea birds including those breeding on Bear Island.
RWE has teamed up with Repsol, OMV and Wintershall to explore in a region which again faced calls for restrictions from the marine institute.
The Directorate for Nature conservation warned that in absence of data on how an oil spill would disperse, and how it may affect sea birds, there should be no drilling in the region.
A Centrica spokesperson told The Guardian
"We are committed to understand, manage and reduce the environmental and ecological impacts of our activities and we have confidence that our exploration activity can be carried out safely.
We will of course take into account what the authorities and other groups have said about specific environmental sensitivities when planning for any drilling activity and this will include taking into account spawning seasons and discharge levels."
A spokesperson for the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research told Energydesk that, "If a rig should remain in the area with no activity [during the period they advise against drilling], it is of course up to the authorities to decide."
Spokesmen for EON and RWE said they were committed to acting within Norwegian law.
The 22nd licensing round marks an extension of Norwegian oil and gas extraction into the far north. Twenty two out of twenty four licenses issued were North of the Arctic circle.
Unlike other waters to the east and west the Barents Sea is warmer and largely ice free – reducing the risk from a spill.
However the warmer waters also make the region environmentally rich. It is the spawning ground of the world’s largest cod stock and home to more than 20 million sea birds during the summer.
The move to allow exploration has been criticized by Norwegian environmental groups including Bellona, Greenpeace and the Norwegian society for the Conservation of Nature who argue the region plays host to important arctic ecosystems at risk from any spill.
Modeling by Greenpeace suggests that spilling in some blocks could cause significant damage to the ice pack further north – though the licenses awarded to E.ON, Centrica and RWE have not been modeled.
Lukoil has been criticized in Russia after a number of spills. In 2010 the oil company was warned about neglecting industrial safety measures by the First Deputy Prosecutors in the Komi Republic after more than 10 spillages, which caused considerable damage to the local environment.
The advise from the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research about the blocks in question:
7321/8,9 (Centrica): Pelagic species: larval operating areas for capelin and herring. Advice: No drilling in oil-bearing layers from March 1 to August 31. 0 spills of chemicals, cuttings and produced water.
7321/4 (RWE): Pelagic species: larval operating areas for capelin and herring. Advice: No drilling in oil-bearing layers from March 1 to August 31. 0 spills of chemicals, cuttings and produced water.
7317/4,5 (EON): Pelagic species: larval operating areas for capelin and herring. Demersal species: Spawning grounds S. mentella, spawning grounds Greenland halibut, larval operating areas for cod and haddock.Advice: Should not be opened.
7317/6 (EON): Pelagic species: larval operating areas for capelin and herring. Demersal species: Spawning grounds Greenland halibut, larval operating areas for cod and haddock. Advice: No drilling in oil-bearing layers from March 1 to August 31 and December 1 to January 31. 0 spills of chemicals, cuttings and produced water.
