NPD to Map Underexplored Acreages in Norwegian Sea

The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) said it would map the subsurface on the Mørerand High and Gjallar Ridge South in the Norwegian Sea in the coming months, explaining it aims at acquiring knowledge about unexplored acreages.

“Geologically speaking, this is a blank spot on the map,” project manager Nils Rune Sandstå of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate commented in a note released on Friday.

The organization will implement its shallow drilling program, which is part of the mapping of the sea area between Norway and Greenland. 

“The Directorate has carried out shallow drilling in the Barents Sea before, at water depths between 300 and 400 metres. The drilling operations in the Norwegian Sea will be technically challenging due to the vast water depths. This places extensive demands on the vessel doing the job,” said Jan Stenløkk, operative supervisor for the fieldwork.

Norway sees an increase in gas production in the coming years. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD) recently said that nearly 40% of the remaining resources have not yet been discovered.