The Arctic

Mic drop: Dropstones are, in fact, polymetallic nodules

In search of oil seeps and to understand regional stra­tigraphy, VBER and TGS conducted two seafloor sam­pling surveys on Greenland’s north-eastern continental shelf over a decade ago. They retrieved samples through dredging and coring along the continental slope. Among the…

Calling a discovery without drilling a well

British Antarctic territory. Source: britannica.com. Interpreting a nice undrilled 4-way closure in a seismic survey and subsequently announcing it as the discovery of new reserves would rock the boat in all oil compa­nies, but it is what happened twice this…

Drilling on the seabed

The deep sea is pitch dark, but the two ROVs provide plenty of “working light” for the drilling machine that is standing on the seabed in the hilly, inhospitable terrain that makes up the underwater mountain range that stretches through…

An accidental discovery of a large mineral deposit

The aim of the drilling operation was to learn more about subsurface water circulation by drilling into a fault. But when operations began on the selected topographical high along the northern flank of the Mohns Ridge, it quickly became clear…

An exciting discovery in the far north

“Plan B” became as successful as anyone could have hoped, as a new hydrothermal vent was discovered by a Norwegian team of researchers. This summer, the GoNorth expedition was originally aiming to go further north and east to the Gakkel…

Hotly debated Arctic boundaries

Canada is reported to be the first nation to lay claim to its boundaries extending into the Arctic in 1925. They were followed by the then Soviet Union in 1926. Eight countries subsequently have claimed, including the USA through the…

Barents Sea “Nondiscussed” Area

The disputed area between Norway and Russia in the Barents Sea, equalling the Norwegian North Sea in size, has a different petroleum system than the proven oil and gas provinces to the west and east. With pre-Jurassic source rocks, the…

Market Update

Moving forward – fast, Low-impact Seismic, Marketing Agreement, Inventing a New Device for S-Wave Generation Market Update(1)

Creating values through new technology

The technological breakthroughs of the onwards from the early 1990s have had enormous implications for the oil and gas exploration and production industry. New methods, changing work processes and an improved understanding of the subsurface have all contributed to new…

Arctic Hot Spot

It could turn out to be the discovery of the 21st century – or the duster of the year. Some 1.2 Bbo have reportedly been discovered in the Horseshoe-1 and 1A wells in Alaska’s North Slope. If correct, this might…

Ice breaker

LNG tanker manages to navigate between two remote Russian ports in a record-breaking six-and-half days In 2012 we brought you the story of the 3D seismic vessel Polarcus Alima that had successfully transited from Norway to the Asia-Pacific region via…