Starting 26 April, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) will acquire 2D seismic in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea. The acquisition, to be carried out by the vessel M/V Artemis Atlantic, will last from six to eight weeks.
In total, about 6 000 kilometres of seismic data will be acquired in this area.
“The vessel was mobilised in Aberdeen before the weekend. It is now headed north with two escort vessels,” says Lars Jensen, the NPD’s project manager for this summer’s seismic acquisition.
“The escort vessels have come along also for safety reasons. The seismic will be acquired far out at sea, and we must have good preparedness in place if something happens to the equipment or crew on the ship.”
The NPD also acquired 2D seismic in the southeastern part of the Barents Sea last year, in the formerly disputed area near the Russian border.
“We carried out a general mapping then, and now we will take a more detailed approach, and acquire data also at prospect level,” Jensen said, and he does not expect that the acquisition activity will come into conflict with fisheries: “We expect there to be minimal fishing so far out at sea at this time of year.”
The NPD acquires seismic data on assignment from the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy. The funds for the acquisition were allocated through the 2012 fiscal budget. The results from the acquisition will be part of the fact basis when the Storting determines whether to open these areas for petroleum activity. This summer, the NPD will acquire a total of 30 000 kilometres of seismic in the Barents Sea, off Jan Mayen and in the Nordland IV and V areas.
[mappress] Source: NPD, April 23, 2012