PROGRAM AREA 3
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ENERGY RESOURCES |
| Danish activities |
| Greenland activities |
| International activities |
DESCRIPTION OF THE PROGRAMME AREA
A special obligation for GEUS is to support governmental action plans and policies in Denmark and Greenland. The aim is to provide data and advice to support a high degree of domestic energy supply. Focus is on the effective exploration and exploitation of Danish national resources of oil and natural gas, and alternatives, notably geothermal energy.
Oil and gas were first discovered in the Danish North Sea in 1966, and production started in 1972. Since then Denmark has developed its North Sea hydrocarbon resources to the extent that it is now a net exporter of hydrocarbons. The Survey has closely followed the developments in the Danish sector, acting as an advisor to the Danish Energy Authority under the Ministry of Economic and Business Affairs. The advice is offered on the basis of substantial research activities covering all geologically related aspects of hydrocarbon exploitation and extraction. Today, GEUS gives advice to the Ministry in all geological matters concerning exploration and licensing, as well as to the Home Rule Authority in Greenland, where productive occurrences of oil have not yet been identified. Furthermore GEUS acts as a regular consultant for the Faeroese authorities in connection with oil exploration around Faeroe Islands. GEUS also offers consultant services to companies active in the oil industry in Denmark, Greenland, the Faeroe Islands, and abroad.
The Survey's main activities are targeted to identification and characterisation of hydrocarbon potentials. Research and advice is based on geological mapping, seismic interpretation, sedimentological and palynological studies, identification and characterisation of oil seeps, source rock and reservoir formations, and basin modelling. Many tasks are carried out as integrated multidisciplinary studies combining:
- Seismic processing, modelling and mapping
- Sequence stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, and sedimentology
- Basin modelling
- Carbonate and clastic sedimentology
- Organic geochemistry; oil, gas and source rock characterisation, petrography of coal
- Core analysis
- Reservoir characterisation and stochastic reservoir modelling
GEUS works with a number of industry standard software packages on a LANDMARK/ORACLE platform.
GEUS benefits from the copious collections of exploration data held in the archives to develop new ideas on play types and also to direct industry attention to other areas and stratigraphic levels than the North Sea Central Graben chalk play from which most production is so far derived. A major research area is reservoir characterisation with a view to provide information that can lead to improved oil recovery from existing chalk fields. Besides the North Sea studies, GEUS focuses on North Atlantic and Greenland prospectivity both on- and offshore. High priority research areas for the coming years are the further development of methods to predict rock and fluid parameters at a field and prospect level, and the investigation of North Sea Chalk and sand reservoirs in the search for new reserves.
GEUS has assisted the government in the preparation of five bidding rounds for hydrocarbon licences in Danish on- and offshore, and in the evaluation of the applications. GEUS also assists the Greenland Home Rule Authority in preparing on- and offshore hydrocarbon exploration in Greenland.
Advice on administrative and geological aspects of hydrocarbon sector management and also field and laboratory services has been provided to countries in Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. Installation and training in work-station based technical aspects have been carried out for a number of governmental agencies abroad.
In connection with GEUS' work in the North Sea and with analogue studies between onshore East Greenland and offshore western Norway, the Survey has had extensive co-operation with major oil companies operating in the Norwegian sector, and has also provided consultant services to many of these. Offshore, the Survey has been an operator for seismic acquisition in Greenland and also around the Faeroe Islands.
Annually about 20 pct. of the budget is allocated to activities related to energy resources.
Read more about the programme area in:
- The Annual Reports:
- Conferences
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The Continental Shelf Project
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) opens up the possibility that coastal countries can make claims to extend their continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. It is necessary, however, that the depth and geology of the ocean floor fulfil a number of conditions, described in article 76 of the Convention. Five potential claim areas have been identified off the Faroe Islands and Greenland. In 2004 Denmark, with support from Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, ratified UNCLOS. From this year Denmark has 10 years to document and put forward possible claims.
Website: http://a76.dk/lang_uk/main.html
