During the past two years there has been an increased use of dispersants as a response technique to offshore marine oil spills. The US EPA has recently revised the National Project Schedule with regards to dispersants, and the cold water application and performance of these materials has come under critical review.
Alaska Clean Seas (ACS) conducted an International Oil and Ice Workshop April 7-10, 2000 in Anchorage, AK. The workshop assembled experts on oil fate and behavior, Arctic oil spill response, ice environments, and Arctic oilfield development to present the leading edge technologies in a seminar and field setting. Conducting the workshop in the operating oilfields on the Alaskan North Slope added a level of realism to the key topics that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. The workshop provided a forum to showcase the results of MMS's Arctic oil spill response research.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) is seeking new and innovative methods and equipment for the cleanup of accidental oil spills in ice infested waters of the Alaskan Arctic. The overall objective of this research contract was to study the technology in the design and use of ice booms for recovering spilled oil in ice infested waters. The objective is to obtain the operating window in which an ice boom can be deployed when towing or pulling on a broken ice field. The work will also define the likely scenarios where an ice boom could be used effectively.
At present, the only known method of searching and detecting the presence of oil leaking at low rates from a marine pipeline in the winter period involves drilling holes at frequent intervals along the pipe to expose any oil which could be trapped in or under the ice. This method is expensive, labor intensive, and exposes personnel to the vagaries of extreme weather. There is a strong motivation within government agencies and industry to identify and develop a reliable and safe means of remotely detecting oil in and under ice.
This is a Multi-Phase Joint Industry Project (JIP) whose current fund providers include the MMS, Alaska Clean Seas, Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute, BP Exploration, Phillips Alaska, Norsk Hydro and Store Norske Spitzbergen Kulkompani. The MORICE program was initiated in 1995 to develop technologies for more effective recovery of oil spills in ice-infested waters and is a multinational effort involving Norwegian, Canadian, American and German researchers.
This a Joint Industry Project (JIP) between MMS and Alaska Clean Seas. This study was performed for Alaska Clean Seas and MMS on behalf of the North Slope Spill Response Project Team, a task group formed to develop comprehensive oil spill response plans for petroleum operations on the North Slope of Alaska. The objective of the study was to evaluate the capabilities to recover spilled oil from very large oil well blowouts occurring during broken ice conditions in the southern Beaufort Sea.
The project is a Joint Industry Project (JIP) sponsored by an international partnership of state and federal agencies and private industry which include: Minerals Management Service, Environment Canada, Texas General Land Office, Norwegian Pollution Control Authority, Exxon Research and Engineering Co., Imperial Oil Resources Ltd., U.K.
This research project was conducted in two separate phases.
The Minerals Management Service (MMS) initiated a cooperative effort with Environment Canada (EC) to participate in a joint evaluation of innovative skimming technology for oil spill cleanup offshore and in icy waters. Current skimmer technology for recovering oil in broken ice conditions was practically nonexistent. This project evaluated selected skimmers under both simulated and field conditions and produced performance data on which the adequacy of spill cleanup contingency plans can be assessed.
The objectives of the workshop were:
(1) to provide a public forum to describe existing research programs,
(2) to identify future research needs and priorities,
(3) to improve and to advance Arctic oil spill response capabilities, and
(4) to present discussions of the state-of-the-art for all aspects of oil spill response under Arctic conditions.
