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Oil optimism
Oil companies dream about Arctic gas and oil,
although the big oil jackpot is still to come
By Christian Schultz-Lorentzen
Although there will not be any exploration drilling for oil
this year, optimism is still strong in the offshore search
for the black gold in Greenland. Oil companies are flocking to
Greenland and although the “jackpot” is still to come, there are
still good indications for oil.
NUNAOIL, an oil company owned by the Government of Greenland
and partner in 20 active exploration licenses, notes that
Cairn Energy found traces of oil and gas offshore West Greenland
last year. The company has acquired so much geological
knowledge that for the second year in a row, NUNAOIL has
shown a profit of DKK 1.2 million. Profits come from sales of
exploration data and exceed the budgeted amount. This is an
important development, because more seismic data increases an
oil company’s chances of finding oil.
Premier Kuupik Kleist is also optimistic.
– The results of the first test drilling have given us an indication
that it is worth following up. We have noted with pleasure that
many Greenlandic enterprises and towns have benefited from
taking part in oil activities, says Kuupik Kleist.
kAl Cairn Energyp qilleriviisa ilaat
nunatta imartaatigoortoq.
Dk En af Cairn Energys olieborerige på
vej gennem grønlandsk farvand.
GB One of Cairn Energy’s drilling rigs
moving in Greenlandic waters.
The race for Arctic oil and natural gas has never been as intense
as in present years, even though organisations like Greenpeace
consider it to be too risky. The figures speak for themselves. The
world’s annual oil consumption is larger than the new oil discoveries
worldwide. But the Arctic is a difficult and tough region to
work in. In addition, the oil is often found at great depths. And
despite all the positive indications, it may not even be found in
quantities that are worth extracting. It is different for the economically
less attractive natural gas. Here, the challenge lies in
bringing the gas to the market.
In recent years, Cairn Energy has spent more than DKK 6 billion
on exploration drilling in Greenland without success. But the belief
in an oil adventure in Greenland still lives. The Norwegian
oil giant, Statoil, that drilled 80 holes and spent decades on oil
exploration, now has four fields in the Barents Sea north of Norway
and has been bought in on one of Cairn Energy’s concessions
in Baffin Bay offshore Greenland. A couple of duds are not
frightening. These are the conditions in the oil business, if you
want to take part in the hunt for the big jackpot.
Suluk #03 Air Greenland Inflight Magazine 2012 25