RESPONSE PLANS FORARCTIC OIL ICE ENCOUNTERS

摘要

Ice conditions, in dynamic stages ofdevelopment and degradation, are present for over 280days out of every calendar year in the Beaufort Seaadjacent to the operating oilfields on the Alaskan NorthSlope. Additionally, wind driven ice invasions during theopen water season, July through September typically, mayalso occur for short periods throughout the season. Thispresence combined with extreme arctic conditions routinelypresents a challenge to mounting a safe and effective oilspill response action. In order to overcome this challengeresponders must develop response action plans not onlywith an understanding of the physical environment but alsowith a basic understanding of the effect this environmentwill have on the fate and behavior of the spilled oil. Arcticspill response strategies, worldwide, have been developedthrough years of experience with both offshore and onshoredrilling and production operations in all types of sea andice conditions. North Slope response action plans arebased on this experience, intense field training, and groundtruthing of related research and development projects.