- The future has arrived
By Minister for Transport and Energy, Flemming Hansen
In 2006 the tracks were laid for the future in the Danish North Sea oil and gas sector. A total of 14 new licenses were awarded in the 6th Licensing Round on 22 May 2006 and the new Offshore Safety Act came into force 1 July 2006. These two milestones will shape the future development in the Danish oil and gas exploration and production activities.
The result from the licensing round was very pleasing. In general the applications and work programmes for the explorations activities are of high quality and based on comprehensive preliminary studies. This will lay the groundwork for ensuring that oil companies will continue to explore for oil and gas in the Danish sector of the North Sea. It also paves the way for the discovery of new deposits so that we can uphold the production of oil and gas for many years to come.
Minister for Transport and Energy,
Flemming Hansen
Photo: Helle Moos
The objective of the new Offshore Safety Act is to maintain a high level of health and safety on offshore installations that reflects the technical and social development in the society. The act imposes the oil companies to establish a safety management system to ensure the safety and health for personnel working offshore. The goal is to keep the health and safety standards in the Danish part of the North Sea among the highest in the North Sea countries. The new act contains the framework for regulating an offshore sector where the infrastructure is expected to continue deve-loping, but where increasing focus will be placed on automation, efficiency improvements, maintenance, extended service life a nd the decommissioning of offshore installations.
Of all the oil deposits we have discovered today only about 25 % of the oil in place can be extracted on basis of current technology. New and improved techno-logy is needed to exploit the known oil deposits more efficiently in the coming 30-40 years. To this part a clever and skilled workforce with detailed knowledge in geo-logy, seismic, geomechanics, reservoir technology and the like are a necessity.
Spread these words to young individuals thinking about what to study at university: the oil and gas sector is worth entering with lots of rewarding opportunities to deal with. The Danish oil and gas sector and its many subcontractors are an attractive international carrier opportunity and will be a part of the Danish society for many years to come.
