NATURAL GAS IN THE ARCTIC ISLANDS: DISCOVERED RESERVES AND FUTURE POTENTIAL

1979 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 21-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. C. Waylett
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Future Potential

The Mooring Bay Concept for LNG Loading in Harsh and Ice Conditions

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sven Hoog ◽  
Joachim Berger ◽  
Johannes Myland ◽  
Günther F. Clauss ◽  
Daniel Testa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Model Tests ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Transfer System ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Joint Research ◽  
Gas Treatment ◽  
Ice Coverage ◽  
Joint Research Project ◽  
Flexible Transfer Lines

The demand for natural gas from offshore fields is continuously increasing. Especially future production from Arctic waters comes into focus in context with global warming effects leading to the development of a dedicated technology. Relevant approaches work with floating turret moored production terminals (FLNG) receiving gas via flexible risers from subsea or onshore fields. These terminals provide on-board gas treatment and liquefaction facilities as well as huge storage capabilities for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas), LPG (Liquefied Petrol Gases) and condensate. Products are transferred to periodically operating shuttle tankers for onshore supply reducing the need for local onshore processing plants providing increased production flexibility (future movability or adaptation of capacity). Nevertheless, in case of harsh environmental conditions or ice coverage the offshore transfer of cryogenic liquids between the terminal and the tankers becomes a major challenge. In the framework of the joint research project MPLS20 ([1]), an innovative offshore mooring and cargo transfer system has been developed and analyzed. MPLS20 is developed by the project partners Nexans ([2]) and Brugg ([3]), leading manufacturers of vacuum insulated, flexible cryogenic transfer pipes, IMPaC ([4]), an innovative engineering company that has been involved in many projects for the international oil and gas industry for more than 25 years and the Technical University (TU) Berlin, Department of Land- and Sea Transportation Systems (NAOE, [5]), with great expertise in numerical analyses and model tests. The overall system is based on IMPaC’s patented and certified offshore ‘Mooring Bay’ concept allowing mooring of the vessels in tandem configuration and simultaneous handling and operation of up to six flexible transfer pipes in full aerial mode. The concept is outlined to operate with flexible transfer lines with 16-inch inner diameter like the newly designed and certified corrugated pipes from Nexans and Brugg. The mooring concept and its major subsystems have proven their operability by means of extensive numerical analysis, model tests and a professional ship handling simulator resulting in an overall transfer solution suitable to be used especially under Arctic conditions like addressed by the EU joint research project ACCESS (http://access-eu.org/). The paper introduces the new offshore LNG transfer system and focuses especially on its safe and reliable operability in the Arctic — with ice coverage as well as in open water conditions.

scholarly journals Sources of Springtime Surface Black Carbon in the Arctic: An Adjoint Analysis

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ling Qi ◽  
Qinbin Li ◽  
Daven K. Henze ◽  
Hsien-Liang Tseng ◽  
Cenlin He
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Black Carbon ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Lower Troposphere ◽  
Anthropogenic Sources ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Anthropogenic Source ◽  
Gas Flaring ◽  
Arctic Front

Abstract. We quantify source contributions to springtime (April 2008) surface black carbon (BC) in the Arctic by interpreting surface observations of BC at five receptor sites (Denali, Barrow, Alert, Zeppelin, and Summit) using a global chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem) and its adjoint. Contributions to BC at Barrow, Alert, and Zeppelin are dominated by Asian anthropogenic sources (40–43 %) before April 18 and by Siberian open biomass burning emissions (29–41 %) afterward. In contrast, Summit, a mostly free tropospheric site, has predominantly an Asian anthropogenic source contribution (24–68 %, with an average of 45 %). We compute the adjoint sensitivity of BC concentrations at the five sites during a pollution episode (April 20–25) to global emissions from March 1 to April 25. The associated contributions are the combined results of these sensitivities and BC emissions. Local and regional anthropogenic sources in Alaska are the largest anthropogenic sources of BC at Denali (63 %), and natural gas flaring emissions in the Western Extreme North of Russia (WENR) are the largest anthropogenic sources of BC at Zeppelin (26 %) and Alert (13 %). We find that long-range transport of emissions from Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (also known as Jing-Jin-Ji), the biggest urbanized region in Northern China, contribute significantly (~ 10 %) to surface BC across the Arctic. On average it takes ~ 12 days for Asian anthropogenic emissions and Siberian biomass burning emissions to reach Arctic lower troposphere, supporting earlier studies. Natural gas flaring emissions from the WENR reach Zeppelin in about a week. We find that episodic, direct transport events dominate BC at Denali (87 %), a site outside the Arctic front, a strong transport barrier. The relative contribution of direct transport to surface BC within the Arctic front is much smaller (~ 50 % at Barrow and Zeppelin and ~ 10 % at Alert). The large contributions from Asian anthropogenic sources are predominately in the form of ‘chronic’ pollution (~ 40 % at Barrow and 65 % at Alert and 57 % at Zeppelin) on 1–2 month timescales. As such, it is likely that previous studies using 5- or 10-day trajectory analyses strongly underestimated the contribution from Asia to surface BC in the Arctic. Both finer temporal resolution of biomass burning emissions and accounting for the Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen (WBF) process in wet scavenging improve the source attribution estimates.

scholarly journals Natural Gas Prices and the Extreme Winters of 2011/12 and 2013/14: Causes, Indicators, and Interactions

2015 ◽  
Vol 96 (11) ◽  
pp. 1879-1894 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl J. Schreck ◽  
Stephen Bennett ◽  
Jason M. Cordeira ◽  
Jake Crouch ◽  
Jenny Dissen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Natural Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Cool Season ◽  
Natural Gas Markets ◽  
Global Recession ◽  
Warm Anomaly ◽  
Natural Gas Prices ◽  
The Tropics

Abstract Day-to-day volatility in natural gas markets is driven largely by variability in heating demand, which is in turn dominated by cool-season temperature anomalies over the northeastern quadrant of the United States (“Midwest–East”). Energy traders rely on temperature forecasts at horizons of 2–4 weeks to anticipate those fluctuations in demand. Forecasts from dynamical models are widely available, so the markets react quickly to changes in the model predictions. Traders often work with meteorologists who leverage teleconnections from the tropics and the Arctic to improve upon the model forecasts. This study demonstrates how natural gas prices react to Midwest–East temperatures using the anomalous winters of 2011/12 and 2013/14. These examples also illustrate how energy meteorologists use teleconnections from the Arctic and the tropics to forecast heating demand. Winter 2011/12 was exceptionally warm, consistent with the positive Arctic Oscillation (AO). March 2012 was a fitting exclamation point on the winter as it featured the largest warm anomaly for the United States above the twentieth-century climatology of any month since 1895. The resulting lack of heating demand led to record surpluses of natural gas storage and spurred prices downward to an 11-yr low in April 2012. In sharp contrast, winter 2013/14 was unusually cold. An anomalous Alaskan ridge led to cold air being transported from Siberia into the United States, despite the AO generally being positive. The ensuing swell in heating demand exhausted the surplus natural gas inventory, and prices rose to their highest levels since the beginning of the global recession in 2008.

scholarly journals Decadal Trends and Variability in Intermountain West Surface Ozone near Oil and Gas Extraction Fields

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhou ◽  
Huiting Mao ◽  
Barkley C. Sive
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
National Park ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Surface Ozone ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Intermountain West ◽  
Emission Reductions

Abstract. Decadal trends in the annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hour average (A4DM8HA) ozone (O3) were studied over 2005–2015 for 13 rural/remote sites in the U.S. Intermountain West. No trends were observed in A4DM8HA O3 at two reference sites, which are located upwind of and thus minimally influenced by emissions from oil and natural gas (O&NG) basins. Trends, or a lack thereof, varied widely at other 11 sites in/near O&NG basins resulting from different controlling factors rather than a simplistic, uniform one. The decreasing trends at Mesa Verde (−0.76 ppbv/yr) and Canyonlands National Park (−0.54 ppbv/yr) were attributed to a 37 % decrease in natural gas production in the San Juan Basin and 35 % emission reductions in coal-fired electricity generation, respectively. The decreasing trend (−1.21 ppbv/yr) at Wind Cave National Park resulted from reduced solar radiation due to increasingly frequent precipitation weather. The lack of trends at remaining sites was likely caused by the increasing O&NG emissions and decreasing emissions from other activities. Wintertime O3 stagnant events were associated with the Arctic Oscillation (AO). Box model simulations suggested that both volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides emission reductions during negative AO years while VOC emission reductions alone in positive AO years could effectively mitigate high wintertime O3 within the O&NG basins. Our findings suggest that emissions from O&NG extraction likely played a significant role in shaping long-term trends in surface O3 near/within O&NG basins and hence warrant consideration in the design of efficient O3 mitigation strategies for the Intermountain West.

scholarly journals RIAC: Responsible and Informed Arctic Commercialization, A Way Forward

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (01) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna M. Zolyniak
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Commercial Development ◽  
Policy Proposal ◽  
The Status ◽  
Regulatory Capacity ◽  
Future Potential ◽  
Arctic Policy

In 2019, the Arctic experienced its second warmest year on record, continuing a six-year trend of record-breaking Arctic surface temperatures (Lindsey 2019). Such unprecedented observations have become the new normal in the Arctic and provide new insights into the implications of global climate change. A warming Arctic, however, also presents new opportunities for Arctic commercial development. Such development is in fact quickly evolving from a mere possibility to an on-the-ground reality. Despite the speed of and increasing prospect of Arctic commercialization, however, there has been little to no movement on the part of the United States to enact policies and regulations accounting for it. Recognizing this gap in U.S. policy, the main objective of this paper is to articulate a possible path towards sustainable Arctic commercialization—one that recognizes and addresses current realities and future potential challenges. To this end, this paper synthesizes a two-pronged policy proposal—referred to as Responsible and Informed Arctic Commercialization (RIAC). RIAC targets the paucity of U.S. Arctic knowledge and regulatory capacity with a clearly articulated framework for implementation. The first prong of the policy addresses the quality of U.S. Arctic domain awareness. The second prong assesses the status of relevant sections of the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations with respect to the unique conditions of the Arctic. The actions encompassed by RIAC’s two-pronged structure offer a clear path for the United States to rectify the weaknesses in its current Arctic policy and make sustainable and safe Arctic commercial development possible.

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