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The offshore industry is renowned for understanding that its greatest strength and growth comes from the knowledge that it shares. As the industry seeks to explore and develop one of its most exot- ic, extremely cold and remote frontiers-the offshore arctic-its leaders are nurturing their most valued assets-people and experience-to consider new options and possible solutions. The synthesis or integration of these assets, said John Stearns, vice president of Marine Pipeline Systems, INTEC Engineering, will expand industry's current near-shore arctic activity to longer off- sets, to perhaps heavier ice conditions and greater water depths, and bring improved operating per- formance. "As an industry, we need to evaluate opportunities for innovation, leveraging existing knowledge in deepwater, subsea to beach systems and extended-reach drilling, to explore and develop hydrocarbons in regions with limited open-water access and multiple impacts for people and planet," said Stearns. "The arctic region is a challenging, complex environment. Industry needs to integrate its collective history, including development experience, technology deployment and safe operations, to consider how we might discover new solutions," said Stearns. "The offshore arctic has large untapped reserves, with much of this reserve lying under seasonal or year-round sea ice. Our industry needs to innovate and collaborate to develop these reserves and address our increasing gap between energy supply and demand," said J. D. "Joey" Hall, Operations manager for Pioneer Natural Resources Alaska, Inc. Studies by the United States Geological Survey underscore the significant reserve potential of the arctic region: some 25 percent of all undiscovered reserves-onshore and offshore- for oil and gas are located in the Northern Hemisphere's arctic region. Other studies indicate that the world's energy needs could increase by 100 million barrels of oil per day of crude over the next 25 years, making the off- shore arctic an industry wide focal point for new exploration and develop- ment. 30 MTR July 2006 The Next Frontier? Offshore Arctic MTR#6 (17-32).qxd 7/11/2006 8:52 AM Page 30
