Page 9 - Danish Offshore Industry 2016

A TIME FOR DECISIONS Peter Helmer Steen, Managing Director of the North Sea Fund. Foto: Pernille Ringsing. The scope of the North Sea Fund is to ensure the opti- we want to enjoy the best possible exploitation of the mal beneft to the State of Denmark. Therefore, Peter resources available. In spite of what is still waiting for Helmer Steen, Managing Director of the North Sea Fund, us in the underground the companies face an increasing is welcoming the National Strategy project for the North amount of challenges which we have to overcome,” Sea as his contribution to the planning has focused states Peter Helmer Steen pointing at investments in primarily on the long-term initiatives likely to result in infrastructure, exploration and new solutions to techni- optimal and sustainable production. Faith in the Danish cal problems as the key elements able to contribute to sector has not diminished even if the present level of the increasing recovery. oil prices present a number of challenges. INFRASTRUCTURE PLAYING THE MAIN PART ”It is a fact that there are still considerable amounts of Infrastructure like pipelines and equipment for transport oil and gas left in the North Sea. In felds from which we and processing of the oil and gas is the central area for are already producing and in licenses where production optimizing the Danish production of oil and gas as in has not yet started up. In addition to that, we have a spite of quite considerable, current investments it is no number of prospects where we believe recoverable oil secret that parts of the infrastructure are rather old as and gas may be found. Discoveries likely to be commer- many of the systems were installed in the 1980s. cial in the future. In total they add up to a considerable amount of oil and gas of which the North Sea Fund “By far the greatest challenge is the part of the infra- wants to contribute to realizing the potential. In addi- structure which has to be improved in the near future or tion to be proftable to the involved companies this oil in some cases just renovated. That is a challenge we have and gas can secure Danish jobs, ensure national self- to consider together – our branch and the State. It is im- suffciency and not least contribute economically to the portant that the frame conditions are totally clarifed,” Danish welfare society. Thus, there are all possible rea- states Peter Helmer Steen referring to Danish Under- sons for recovering as much as possible of the resources ground Consortium (DUC). DUC, in which the North Sea available to us in the underground,” states Peter Helmer Fund is a partner, is accounting for around 97% of the Steen. How much of the oil and gas is to be recovered production of gas and some 90% of the oil as well as a will naturally depend on the preconditions. similar share of the infrastructure, so, naturally they will have to play a major part, as Maersk Oil is the operator “Here, the price of oil plays a central part. Even if the for the DUC.” drop has resulted in some benefts,” explains Peter Helmer Steen, who has seen the general level of associ- Peter Helmer Steen is convinced that a thoroughly con- ated costs drop, too, as the oil prices have gone down. sidered approach to the infrastructure will be of decisive The National Strategy, thus, has arrived at a decisive time importance to new and future concession holders. for the Danish production of oil and gas. “A large part of the resources is found in felds we have been producing for many years. But there are a number “We shall carry on exploring and operating the produc- of new and smaller discoveries which are planned to be ing felds in a sensible way, but just at this moment we produced in the years to come, so it is our responsibility fnd ourselves in a “time of decisions”. In the very near to ensure that such new felds can be tied-in to the exist- future some very important decisions are to be made if ing felds,” concludes Peter Helmer Steen, who ▲ 7 / A TIME FOR DECISIONS