The National Energy Authority of Iceland (NEA) has opened a second licensing round for offshore hydrocarbon exploration valid from 3 October until 2 April this year, it said on Monday.
The first licensing round took place in 2009, when two Norwegian companies – Aker Exploration and Sagex – filed applications for hydrocarbon exploration in the Dreki area. Both companies later withdrew their applications, however.
The Dreki Area, offshore the north-east coast of Iceland, covers 42,700 square km. Water depths range mostly from 800-2000 m.
The area is part of the Jan Mayen Ridge micro-continent, which was separated from the continental shelf of Greenland and Norway between 45 and 60 million years ago.
“Seismic surveys and other geophysical measurements indicate that oil and gas could be found in the Dreki Area as they have been in adjacent and geologically similar areas. Further research, including exploratory drilling, is necessary to verify whether oil or gas exists in the Dreki Area,” the NEA said in a statement.
A NEA spokesman, Thorarinn Sveinn Arnarson, added that it was too early to estimate the volumes of gas reserves in the area and when commercial production could realistically begin.
“The exploration licences are initially valid for 12 years, but this can be extended to 16 years,” Arnason told Interfax on Tuesday.
NEA said there was no danger of sea ice under present climatic conditions and that the wave heights in the area are lower than off the west coast of Norway.
Revenues from oil and gas production will be sorely needed in Iceland, which was hit hard by the global recession in 2008. Meanwhile, exploration activity has already begun in Greenland and the Faroe Islands. In Greenland, for instance, an international consortium which includes Chevron and ExxonMobil has begun exploration for hydrocarbons on the west coast. The US Geological Survey is completing an assessment of Greenland’s potential oil and gas reserves and its initial findings suggest Greenland might have reserves to rival Alaska’s North Slope, according to Greenpeace.[/
Iceland opens second licensing round
The first licensing round took place in 2009, when two Norwegian companies – Aker Exploration and Sagex – filed applications for hydrocarbon exploration in the Dreki area. Both companies later withdrew their applications, however.
The Dreki Area, offshore the north-east coast of Iceland, covers 42,700 square km. Water depths range mostly from 800-2000 m.
The area is part of the Jan Mayen Ridge micro-continent, which was separated from the continental shelf of Greenland and Norway between 45 and 60 million years ago.
“Seismic surveys and other geophysical measurements indicate that oil and gas could be found in the Dreki Area as they have been in adjacent and geologically similar areas. Further research, including exploratory drilling, is necessary to verify whether oil or gas exists in the Dreki Area,” the NEA said in a statement.
A NEA spokesman, Thorarinn Sveinn Arnarson, added that it was too early to estimate the volumes of gas reserves in the area and when commercial production could realistically begin.
“The exploration licences are initially valid for 12 years, but this can be extended to 16 years,” Arnason told Interfax on Tuesday.
NEA said there was no danger of sea ice under present climatic conditions and that the wave heights in the area are lower than off the west coast of Norway.
Revenues from oil and gas production will be sorely needed in Iceland, which was hit hard by the global recession in 2008. Meanwhile, exploration activity has already begun in Greenland and the Faroe Islands. In Greenland, for instance, an international consortium which includes Chevron and ExxonMobil has begun exploration for hydrocarbons on the west coast. The US Geological Survey is completing an assessment of Greenland’s potential oil and gas reserves and its initial findings suggest Greenland might have reserves to rival Alaska’s North Slope, according to Greenpeace.[/