Marine Construction and Operation Challenges in the Barents Sea

Abstract

The Western and Southern Western Barents Sea is the offshore area south of Bear Island and east towards the newly agreed delineation boundary between Norway and Russia, limited by the Norwegian mainland to the south. In this area, the Snøhvit gas field is in production and the Goliat oil field is being developed. Recently, encouraging oil finds (Skrugard and Havsul) have increased the interests in the geology and the oil and gas potential of the area. This paper summarises challenges faced by the marine construction contractors working in these areas and also discusses various phenomena that affect marine operations at extreme cold climate conditions. It is considered important to present a review of all aspects of working in these cold climate areas as construction and operation activities in the areas for a large part will be carried out by personnel unfamiliar with the challenges of the areas. Working under unfamiliar conditions could lead to undesirable events that could escalate into severe accidents.