Barents Sea: the first oil explorations have started
The new petroleum El Dorado? The first exploration drilling off the coast of Finnmark in the Barents Sea has started. The Norwegian company North Energy has just started work on the Norvarg zone, operated by Total. It is the first in a series of three wells planned for 2011. It will be immediately followed by Heilo and Zapffe. A real technical challenge for drillers, both in depth and in the number of different rock layers to be drilled. The drilling will go up to 4000 meters deep, that is to say it will reach a hundred rocks of the Permian age, which contain sediments of more than 250 million years, at the era of Pangea, the unique continent. Drilling at this depth will also allow a better analysis of all the sedimentary layers in the area, on which, currently, only seismic data are available. Scientists and geologists, if they are optimistic about finding hydrocarbons in these unknown and unexplored layers, cannot however guarantee that they are in sufficient quantity to ensure commercial volumes. The West Phoenix platform, positioned in the area at the end of April, will drill for a hundred days, during the arctic summer. The work should therefore take place in daylight and in correct weather conditions. The first results of the drilling should be known at the end of the year.
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