- Tarjei Nødtvedt Malme Special Adviser + 47 22 03 74 64 tnm@forskningsradet.no
- Kimberly C. Mayes Senior Adviser +47 22 03 75 33 kcm@forskningsradet.no
- Ingrid Anne Munz Special Adviser +47 22 03 75 68 iam@forskningsradet.no
- Espen Forsberg Holmstrøm Adviser +47 22 03 74 93 efh@forskningsradet.no
- Mathias Ytterdahl Adviser +47 22 03 74 98 my@forskningsradet.no
Environmentally aware while creating value:
Petroleum research still vibrant
In 2011 the Research Council of Norway’s Large-scale Programme on Optimal Management of Norwegian Petroleum Resources (PETROMAKS) allocated NOK 155.5 million to 22 new Innovation Projects for the Industrial Sector – ranging from monitoring ice drift in the Arctic to treating produced water from petroleum recovery operations.
Research groups and companies submitted applications for a total of nearly NOK 600 million in funding for innovative projects of high calibre. Many of the project proposals addressed topics related to the environment and increased petroleum recovery.
“This harmonises well with national priorities within this research field,” says Tarjei Malme, programme coordinator of the PETROMAKS programme.
There are still large enough petroleum reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf to provide the basis for substantial production and value creation for many decades to come.
Environmental focus
Petroleum operations on the Norwegian continental shelf are considered cutting-edge in terms of promoting safety and preventing hazardous discharges to the sea. Yet there is always room for improvement. Projects allocated funding in 2011 include:
- Oilfield Technology Group, in collaboration with SINTEF ICT, will develop a tool that provides an operator with a real-time, comprehensive and integrated risk picture at an offshore installation as well as proposes measures for action. Project results could help to improve operational safety to the benefit of both personnel and the environment.
- Based on a highly innovative idea, Ecowat together with M-I SWACO will develop a process for reducing the amount of oil in produced water discharged into the sea from the petroleum industry. Project findings will also be widely applicable to other sectors.
- Nortek is receiving funding along with Kongsberg Maritime, Statoil, SINTEF and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for the development of a real-time sensor network capable of measuring vital data about the sea and air during Arctic operations. The objective is to improve safety and minimise the risk of discharges to sea under the especially challenging Arctic conditions.
It is crucial that the Norwegian petroleum industry be further developed as an internationally competitive industry
Enhanced recovery on the Norwegian continental shelf
There are still large enough petroleum reserves on the Norwegian continental shelf to provide the basis for substantial production and value creation for many decades to come. Expectations are highest in relation to the potential for new major discoveries and for increasing recovery from existing fields.
Grants under the PETROMAKS programme have also been awarded to projects to develop new methods of recovering “immobile” oil, which cannot be recovered via injection of seawater or gas, requiring instead more advanced drainage methods.
- The project “A Combined Surface-Colloid Chemical and Rock-Fluid Interaction Approach towards more Efficient Enhanced Oil Recovery Strategies” at NTNU will focus on reservoir flooding using low-salinity water and how chemical additives in the water can enhance recovery.
- The Institute for Energy Technology (IFE) will develop methods for measuring the potential for enhanced recovery and assess the effectiveness of new flooding methods in the project “New Tracers and Methods for Single Well Chemical Tracer Test”.
Click here for a complete list of projects awarded funding under the PETROMAKS programme from 2012
- Published:
- 27.01.2012
- Last updated:
- 28.01.2012
