Iceland Licensing of the Dreki Area Thorarinn Arnarson Stavanger 6 June 2011
Presentation topics Licensing Environmental conditions Geological and geophysical data
Second Icelandic licensing round northern Dreki Area Set to open 3 October 2011 Deadline for applications 2 April 2012 Norway (Petoro) may participate as an active partner with up to 25% in any licence granted within the agreement area Licensing system similar to other European countries Hydrocarbons Act transposes EU Directive 94/22/EC into Icelandic law Jan Mayen Agreement Area Red text edited post-conference
Feedback after first round Hydrocarbon tax system in need of improvement No standard JOA Clarification of an issue with ESA regarding registration of companies More data would be good
Preparations for second round Revision of terms JOA Fiscal terms Taxation of hydrocarbon activities Necessary changes due to JOA Hydrocarbon Act improvement Discussion with Norway on the practicalities of their right to participate Cooperation with Norway on research
Terms of second round Not a pre-defined a limit on sizes of license areas Standard JOA to be submitted as part of documentation Similar to Norwegian JOA Company arrangement for licensees similar to Norwegian model
Terms of second round ESA-complaint regarding registration of companies handled in modification of Hydrocarbons Act Branch or agency of company registered in an EEA country sufficient for registration ESA-complaint regarding bases handled similarly as Norway
Environmental conditions
Climate and sea ice Cold oceanic climate Mean temp. < 10 C all year round ca. 5 to 8 C in summer, -2 to 0 C in winter Yearly precipitation ca. 700 mm. Winter lows give snow up to 25 to 30 cm/day Mean wind speed ca. 10 m/s in winter, but 6 m/s in summer. Over half of obs. < 12 m/s. Frequent fogs in summer, icing during winter The edge of sea ice has been north and west of the area since the cold period 1965 71; not considered to be a problem
Currents Measurements conducted by taking ADCP profiles from a ship and by an anchored mooring Bottom current velocity in the area on the order of 5 cm/s Surface currents in the North-Atlantic Dynamic surface elevation (Mortensen 2004)
Highest wave 98%, 1 yr og 100 yr Wave height in the Dreki Area is less than at the west-coast of Norway 98% 1 yr [m] 100 yr [m]
Main conclusions of the SEA Water depths 1000 to 2000 m in 80% of the area Great variability in biomass and consequently in habitats The area is important feeding ground for pelagic fish, especially herring, and possibly for whales On-site current measurements needed (collected 2007-2008) Need for registration and mapping of delicate habitats of benthic species (started in 2008) No information on demersal fish in the area (investigated in 2009)
Geophysical and geological data
Available data information system Iceland Continental Shelf Portal Online GIS based web-portal (National Energy Authority & Iceland Geosurvey) http://www.icsp.is
2D Seismic reflection data surveys over the Jan Mayen Area Commercial Surveys NPD-NEA Surveys 2009 CGG Veritas, reprocessed part of the IS-JMS-01 data 2009 Spectrum commercial survey, reprocessed JM-85 & JM-88 data ORKUSTOFNUN National Energy Authority
Borehole & seafloor samples in the Jan Mayen area& ODP Cruises Academic ODP & DSDP cruises 5 wells during Leg 38 in 1974 1 well during Leg 151 in 1993 2 wells during Leg 162 in 1995 USSR 1973 & NEA-NPD 2010 5 seafloor samples in 1973 25 samples on the North Dreki area, piston coring device, most samples >2m penetration, 2010
Global geothermal gradient, heat flow & thermal conductivity study GGA,2005 - (http://www-odp.tamu.edu/publications/heatflow/odpreprt.pdf)
High resolution, multibeam bathymetric surveys 2008 (Marine Research Institute & NEA) 2010 (NPD) Norwegian area
Seismic reflection & refraction surveys in the Jan Mayen area Academic Surveys Important OBS Data Research
North Atlantic - Free Air Gravity Data Canadian Geological Survey
North Atlantic - Magnetic Anomaly Data Canadian Geological Survey
North Atlantic - Bouguer Gravity Anomaly Data Karl Gunnarsson & Hjálmar Eysteinsson, 1995
Kolbeinsey Ridge JAS-11: A collaboration project between NGU, NPD and Orkustofnun The new aeromagnetic survey will provide a comprehensive and state of the art aeromagnetic dataset of the Norway Basin JAS-05 JMMC?? JAS-11? NB-07 Iceland
JMMC JAS-11 Fill the gaps! Previous NGU aeromagnetic compilation New survey configuration The data acquisition will start during summer 2011 and is scheduled for completion by the end of September 2011 Contact person: L. Gernigon NGU - Geological Survey of Norway, Trondheim TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS Line/tie-line spacing: 6 km / 20 km Sensor elevation: approx. 230 m Area coverage: 80,000 km² Total flying distance: 17.600 km Aeroplane: Piper Chieftain (?) Magnetometer: Scintrex Cesium Vapour MEP410 Noise envelope: ±0.1 nt Sensor: CS-3 mounted in towed bird Navigation: Real time differential GPS Navigation accuracy: < 5 m Base magnetometer: Scintrex Envi-mag
Summary Second licensing round on Icelandic continental shelf Set to open on 3 October 2011 Deadline for applications set for 2 April 2012
Thanks for your attention Acknowledgements: Kristinn Einarsson, Inga Dóra Gudmundsdóttir, Lárus Ólafsson, Thorvaldur Bragason at NEA; Anett Blischke, Karl Gunnarsson, Gunnlaugur M. Einarsson, Bjarni Richter, Steinar Thor Gudlaugsson at Iceland Geosurvey