Í hesi vikuni luttekur Jarðfeingi á PETEX oljuráðstevnuni í London, ið er størsta oljuráðstevna í Europa. Luttøkan á ráðstevnuni er liður í at seta ferð á leitingina eftir kolvetnum á føroyska landgrunninum og at marknaðarføra 4. útbjóðingarumfar, sum letur upp í mai 2017.
Í hesum sambandi skipaðu Uttanríkis- og vinnumálaráðið og Jarðfeingi fyri kunningartiltakinum “Re-imagine the Faroese Continental Shelf”, fyri leiðandi fólkum í oljuvinnuni.
Á tiltakinum greiddi Poul Michelsen, landsstýrismaður í uttanríkis- og vinnumálum, frá framtíðarætlanunum hjá landsstýrinum viðvíkjandi leiting eftir kolvetni í føroyskum øki. Eisini greiddi Heri Ziska, jarðfrøðingur, frá góðu møguleikunum, sum eru fyri at finna stórar nøgdir av kolvetni í føroysku undirgrundini. Góðu útlitini byggja á nýggjar greiningar av dátunum frá seismiskum kanningum eystan fyri Føroyar.
Røðan hjá landsstýrismanninum:
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen
It is a pleasure to be here today. And I want to thank you all for taking the time to join us at this event.
The oil industry is at a crossroad. And so are the Faroe Islands as an upcoming oil producing nation.
The low oilprices have resulted in an decline in exploration costs. Meanwhile is the global energy consumption steadily growing.
It is hard to see how the growth in energy consumption can be met without hydrocarbons - even with the current growth in renewables.
The most likely scenario is that Renewable energy sources will only be able to compensate for the growth in energy consumption. And renewable energy will not replace hydrocarbons as the main source of energy production.
So we need more new hydrocarbon discoveries.
The Faroe Islands is still a frontier area and the possibility of finding hydrocarbon giants is here.
Many areas have big and some places gigantic structures. This indicates an enormous potential and clear indications of an active hydrocarbon system.
Explorations on the Faroese continental shelf have so far demonstrated that our understanding of the area was insufficient. We have therefore decided to start over and build on a better platform, with more and better data.
The geology of the area east of the Faroe Islands is best understood. The area is well covered by seismic data and so far nine offshore wells have been drilled.
Most of the wells showed signs of hydrocarbons. In one of the wells there was found a 150 meter thick layer containing hydrocarbons. And in another the amount of gas made it necessary to air the well.
The area east of the Faroe Islands is therefore a good place to start developing leads and prospects. This is the reason we focus on this area in the coming 4th licensing round. The round opens 17th of May next year at the Faroe Islands Exploration Conference and will be open for nine months with the closing date being 17th February.
The west of Faroe Islands is a more immature area.
No wells have been drilled here and on large parts of this area there are no seismic data. However it is worth mentioning that the Oil and Gas Authorities in the UK has acquired seismic data just south of our border.
We are aiming to get new seismic data west of Faroe Islands in 2017 and 2018. Afterward we will open the 5th license round in 2019 in this area.
The geological knowledge of the near- and onshore areas, and other narrow water areas, is limited. It is therefore necessary to do more research in order to understand a potential hydrocarbon system better in these areas.
This research has already started and we aim to be ready to open these areas for explorations in 2021.
As you can see we have chosen to think long term. We have embarked on a process that addresses the uncertainties. This so we, together with you, can get as much as possible out of the resources that undoubtedly exist in the Faroese underground - on a sustainable basis.
You may be assured that stable and secure political conditions prevail and that public opinion is well-disposed towards oil companies who wish to invest in the Faroe Islands. We are a hardy and inventive people. We have a skilled and qualified workforce with firms that are at the cutting edge in their respective fields. Firms who compete successfully in the global market.
The fishing industry has been the mainstay of our economy since the 19th century. So we are naturally worried to preserve our environment and sustain the fishing industry. But we do not see this standing in the way of the development of an oil and gas industry in the Faroe Islands. If we have valuable resources in our subsoil we surely have an obligation to future generations to encourage exploration and establish a new source of income for our nation. We are confident that with careful planning this can be done in an environmentally friendly way and in balance with the fishing industry.
I would therefore like to extend a warm invitation to you to carefully look at the opportunities presented by our Licensing Round.
And to take full account both of the accommodating terms on offer and of the wider context of the political and economic stability prevailing in the Faroe Islands.
Thank you!