Caution is the word. Just ask Shell, which adopted a measured approach to drilling in Alaska’s Beaufort and Chukchi seas, stalling all arctic activity this year while it gets itself fully prepared. The company is spending 2013 readying both equipment and people after 2012 saw it safely complete top-hole drilling on two wells in the region before maritime mishaps due to severe weather resulted in its Kulluk rig suffering damage.

Shell is doing the right thing. Last year’s Kulluk incident served as a useful reminder that the company will be operating in one of the planet’s harshest environments. Shell said in a press release that securing access to these resources “requires special expertise, technology, and an in-depth understanding of the environmental and societal sensitivities unique to the region.”

Others have adopted the same approach. I would say the consequences of getting it wrong do not bear thinking about – but that is the point. They do bear thinking about a great deal, and the reassuring news is that the industry is doing that.

The latest example saw Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and Statoil launch a program aimed at enhancing their knowledge of particular arctic challenges in a step-by-step learning approach. The Arctic Competence Escalator program will enhance the expertise of DNV and Statoil’s specialists and allow both companies to share and improve solutions.

Although Statoil has extensive experience in the Barents Sea and offshore Newfoundland, Canada, Morten Karlsen, head of its Arctic Technology Research Program, said in a press release that the region was a highly diverse part of the world and that the company would eventually be operating in more challenging areas, with longer distances, lower temperatures, and ice-covered waters. Encouragingly, Statoil has this year tripled its arctic technology research budget to US $43 million and also is maturing the concept of an arctic rig that is able to drill year-round in ice-bound conditions in varying water depths. The company also has established a dedicated unit to help solve these challenges. DNV also revealed in late 2012 that a joint industry project (JIP) it has been leading developed an enhanced design framework for floating structures in ice-covered waters. The ICESTRUCT JIP adapted existing design practices used for other areas, developing a methodology for determining ice-load effects. Rather than having a custom-made arctic design practice for ice loads, the methodology developed is consistent with existing methods for determining other environmental load effects.

Consequently, design practice in the North Sea and elsewhere can be used for the design of floating structures in ice.

Encouragingly, the JIP received support from companies including Transocean, Shell, Statoil, Eni, Repsol, SBM Offshore, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering, Hyundai Heavy Industries, Multiconsult, Keppel Offshore & Marine, Marin, Huisman Equipment, and Dr. Techn. Olav Olsen.

The Arctic remains the world’s most imposing frontier. But the signs are that the upstream industry is warming to the challenge.

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