The Final Frontier? - Exploring the Arctic
During 50-60s the ever-increasing demand encouraged the creation of new exploration projects - a US Geological Survey revealed that as much as a quarter of untapped reserves of hydrocarbons could be located in the offshore regions of the Arctic.
A combination of factors, particularly the remoteness of the locations, made exploring the Arctic a difficult, treacherous process but, by the late 20th century, the receding ice cap allowed for easier access. New technological developments drove the exploration process and a great deal of reserves were discovered, providing the necessary incentive to proceed with developing the area and beginning to extract hydrocarbons.
Even with the most modern technology, exploring the Arctic regions and establishing infrastructure remains a difficult, dangerous process. Challenges include:
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Extreme low temperatures, year-round ice sheet cover and continual severe storms which make the Arctic practically uninhabitable for humans
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Remote locations that make planning, building and managing petroleum plants a complex and time-consuming task.
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Protecting the sensitive Arctic environment, which includes a number of fisheries and endangered species. Impacts on this highly-specialised environment hit hard and recovery is slow
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The lack of the international petroleum industry’s experience in exploring and developing this type of environment. This has meant that conventional processes have had to be completely reassessed
BS Stainless have been involved with the gas & oil industries for more than ten years, developing and supplying our range of products and solutions for the metal jacketing requirements of pipelines at plants around the world. We have worked on a number of challenging plant installations and created brand new, innovative products for the industry, constantly improving and optimising our metal jacketing systems, essential for protecting the pipelines which are the safest and most cost-effective way of transporting hydrocarbons.
SoundMet®, along with complimentary Coolmet®, were co-developed by BS Stainless and are now being used to facilitate the professional insulation of oil and gas pipelines in difficult-to-access areas such as the Arctic.