Norway Eyes Sea Change in Deep Dive for Metals Instead of Oil
Norway's oil and gas reserves have made it one of the world's wealthiest countries but its dreams for deep-sea discovery now center on something different.This time, Oslo is looking for a leading role in mining copper, zinc, and other metals found on the seabed and in hot demand in green technologies.Norway could license companies for deep-sea mining as early as 2023, its oil and energy ministry told Reuters, potentially placing it among the first countries to harvest seabed metals for electric vehicle batteries…
NPD in New Search for Minerals
For the next month, Jan Stenløkk will trade his office in Stavanger for the vessel "M/V Seabed Constructor" in the Norwegian Sea.On this voyage, the geologist will continue the task of mapping seabed minerals for the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate on behalf of the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy – which is responsible for managing the minerals."The voyage will go to the volcanic Mohns Ridge between Jan Mayen and Bjørnøya, a sea area that is still virtually unexplored. It’s exciting that the NPD has been given the task of exploring the geology and the deposits, as well as performing the mapping. We are now at the very beginning of work that could have a significant impact on Norwegian resources and industry in the future…
Arctic (& Wind) Operations: Hands Across the Water
As the North American offshore wind model evolves, it is clear that fit-for-purpose, Jones Act compliant and Arctic ready tonnage will need to be part of the equation. If so, we’ve got that box checked, with a little help from Europe.As of September 2018, the Walney Extension off the United Kingdom is the largest offshore wind farm in the world at 659 megawatts. There are at least 70 major wind farms, each with hundreds of wind turbines, each generating as much as 10 megawatts in offshore England, the North Sea, Russia and China.
Iceland Likely to Order More PSV's
Iceland, which issued its first offshore oil and gas exploration licenses this year, seeks to become a hub for subsea explorers from Greenland to Jan Mayen. Foreign Minister Ossur Skarphedinsson announced that Icelandic companies will probably follow oil-service provider Fafnir Offshore’s 7.3 billion kronur ($59 million) purchase of the country’s first platform supply vessel (PSV) from Norway’s Havyard Group reports Bloomberg. Iceland will seek to become an oil-service hub for exploration in its northern waters, off Norway’s Arctic Jan Mayen island and offshore Greenland, as the island recovers from the 2008 banking meltdown that led to its worst recession in six decades. Source: Bloomberg
More Arctic Norwegian Shelf Resources Mapped
The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate’s (NPD’s) mapping of the southeastern Barents Sea and the area surrounding Jan Mayen shows 15% increase. The increase will result in an approximate increase of 15 per cent in the estimates of undiscovered resources on the Norwegian shelf which corresponds to about 390 million standard cubic metres (Sm3) of oil equivalents (o.e.). The mapping of these petroleum resources is a step in the authorities’ process to open these areas for petroleum activity.
