Part Two Technology and Operations Part Two Overview he following four chapters examine the state of The opportunities were prioritized with a view industry’s capability to explore for and develop toward the magnitude of impact they could have T oil and gas resources in an arctic environment. on making substantial, measurable progress toward The spectrum of technologies and operations con- facilitating prudent U.S. Arctic development in the sidered include (1) characterization of the ice envi- next several decades. The items in the table are ronment; (2) exploring for, drilling, producing, and prioritized first on the basis of priority for prudent exporting oil; (3) logistics and infrastructure; and development of U.S. offshore Arctic oil. Categories (4) preventing and responding to oil spills. The objec- of H (high), M/H (medium high), M (medium), and tive of the chapters is to describe the current state L (low) were assigned. Items within each of the cate- of art and then explore opportunities for conducting gories were further prioritized by giving preference to research or pursuing technology/capability enhance- technologies that facilitate Exploration or Both over ments that could materially facilitate prudent devel- Production. No attempt was made to further priori- opment in the U.S. offshore Arctic. Opportunities tize items within a category or to develop an overall were sought that address the multiple dimensions of prioritization. Hence, the numerical order of items prudent development. Accordingly, we asked what in a category does not imply prioritization of say, one enhancements could: high priority item versus another, with the exception y Make operations safer? of demoting those that pertain to Production only. y Reduce environmental impacts? The process for identifying and prioritizing research y Mitigate impacts on local inhabitants? and technology/capability enhancement opportunities was consistently applied across the full spectrum. The y Improve the economics of costly Arctic develop- technologies were first parsed into categories or areas. ment? Subject matter experts from the industry were then A broad set of research and technology enhance- tasked with documenting for each category: (1) the ment opportunities were identified and are summa- role of the technology in Arctic development consid- rized in the table that follows. They represent a mixed ering all of the prudent development implications, set of opportunities ranging from what could be cat- (2) historical development and application of the tech- egorized as research to design/development and dem- nologies in the Arctic, (3) current state of the art (U.S. onstration projects. Consistent with the already fairly and global), (4) current worldwide research activities, mature state of the technology, the majority would and (5) potential technology advancement opportuni- fall into the category of engineering design/develop- ties. Study topic papers were used to capture facts, ment opportunities versus more basic research. It draw conclusions and key messages, and to identify should be noted that any number of engineering- technology enhancement opportunities for each of based technology improvement opportunities can the major categories considered. These papers, devel- be identified, but their existence does not imply that oped or used by the study’s Technology & Operations current technology is insufficient or lacking. There is Subgroup, are included on the NPC website. They and always will be room for improvement. formed the base for various study segments, such as PART TWO OVERVIEW II-1 Ice Characterization and Offshore Arctic Exploration stantly pursue better technology in the effort to deliver and Development Technologies, and were heavily used affordable energy. The majority of items identified in the development of the chapters in Part Two. A list in this study reflect continuous improvement-type of the topic papers appears in Appendix D. opportunities that can contribute to improved opera- tions integrity and economics. They will advance at a NPC study participants held a workshop to build pace commensurate with the incentives identified by consensus around key facts, conclusions, and mes- exploration and their potential for contributing to the sages, and to prioritize key research needs across overall prudent development objective. the spectrum of technology areas. This workshop included broad representation from the study team. In addition to technology enhancement opportuni- Priorities were assigned based on the impact the ties that fall into this category of continuous improve- technology enhancements could make toward pru- ment, this study has identified several important dent development in the U.S. Arctic offshore over the research opportunities—especially in the realm of next several decades. Since economic discoveries are demonstration trials for recent technology enhance- required prior to any development, technologies that ments that could be instrumental in advancing facilitate exploration were given more priority. The prudent development. The highest priority oppor- findings of the topic papers were used as background tunities are ones that both (1) address the issues of for subsequent workshops with federal and Alaskan highest public concern and (2) can be key in enabling state and local representatives to (1) inform govern- extension of exploration drilling operations beyond ment participants of the preliminary study findings, the open water period and into the shoulder seasons (2) broaden the study perspective beyond that of the where ice is present. These include technologies that NPC membership, (3) understand alignment between research opportunities and government capabilities, can quickly shut off the flow of oil from a blown-out and (4) identify potential opportunities for govern- well (source control technologies) and technologies ment or collaborative research that would facilitate for effective mitigation of the environmental impacts prudent Arctic development. of spilled oil. Significant recent advancements have been made on these technologies, and there is oppor- The basic technologies and capabilities to accom- tunity to work with all stakeholders to build confi- plish prudent offshore exploration and production for dence in their effectiveness. the U.S. waters within this study scope already exist as a result of the decades of practice and experience. Since extended season operations involve breaking Nonetheless, research to advance Arctic development of sea ice around the drilling rig, there are also oppor- technology continues, driven by relentless pursuit tunities to better understand and mitigate potential of gains in operations integrity and economics. The impacts of these operations on ice-dependent species extensive list of technology enhancement opportuni- and the subsistence habits of indigenous people. This ties identified in the table is not inconsistent with the is discussed more in the ecology chapter in Part Three conclusion that adequate technology already exists. of the report. Finally, enhancements to the broad There will always be opportunities to do things in a suite of technologies and infrastructure required to more efficient and effective manner. In fact, it is the support station-keeping in ice could widen the bound- imperative of oil and gas industry engineers to con- aries of the safe extended-season operating period. II-2 ARCTIC POTENTIAL: REALIZING THE PROMISE OF U.S. ARCTIC OIL AND GAS RESOURCES Primary Supports Prudent Topical Exploration, No. Chapter Dev. Enhancement Opportunity Priority Area Production, Element or Both Addressed 1 Characterization Airborne Remote Safety Increased utilization of Unmanned Aircraft Systems – Regulatory Acceptance; reduced payload size of Both H of the Ice Sensing synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and other sensors to facilitate unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) usage. Environment Aviation Logistics Assessment of on- and off-installation monitoring techniques to support escape, evacuation, and E&D rescue (EER), including the provision for drones to provide information on existing and oncoming ice Technologies Ice Management conditions (both local and far-field) that could impact evacuation and/or rescue success as well as the viability of evacuation routes to the evacuation points. Logistics & Exploration Data Infrastructure Acquisition Oil Spill Escape, Response Evacuation, and Rescue 2 E&D Ice Management Environmental Policy-oriented studies focused on understanding and mitigating potential impacts of ice management Both H Technologies on ice-dependent species. This would involve studies to develop a detailed characterization of marine mammal use of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) sea ice to understand potential impact of localized ice management operations. Such studies could include development of advanced means for monitoring animal presence in very specific areas representative of those surrounding a drilling operation. 3 Arctic Offshore Oil Spill Response Environmental Support policy that elevates all oil spill response tools (mechanical recovery, dispersants, in-situ Both H Oil Spill burning, and any new/improved technology that is developed) to primary options. Decisions as to Prevention, which option should be used in an emergency to minimize environmental impact will be based on Net Control, and Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA). Regulatory credit for all these tools should be provided when Response calculating how much equipment must be included