The Arctic region is expected to hold large volumes of oil and gas, and development of these resources is often assumed to be technologically and economically challenging. These challenges however, vary widely across the region, and many challenges can be managed safely and efficiently if addressed early. Statoil views the Arctic region in relation to three categories; Workable, Stretch and Extreme, reflecting commercial and technological challenges. Within these categories, safety and sustainability are considered as part of evaluation for access targets and opportunities. This is followed up through planning of exploration and development operations, where safety and sustainability related risks are addressed early to ensure appropriate mitigating actions. Statoil has been operating in the Arctic region and in harsh environments for many years, and where Statoil's current core positions are in the Workable Arctic. Early focus on safety and sustainability related risks and risk factors across the company portfolio leads to improved quality and robustness in risk management. This focus leads to identification of key enablers, including fact-based science and technology development needs, as well as shorter term operational measures. This paper will show how Statoil maintains an overview of risks in the Arctic, and some of the key enablers identified to manage safety and sustainability related risks and support activity within Statoil's business areas. The building of risk assessment tools for environmental management and decision support, together with methods for efficient environmental monitoring has contributed to increased understanding of the Arctic ecosystem. Qualification of technology to advance Arctic oil-spill response capability is a high priority. Ice management, including methods for ice detection in low visibility and improved management of sea ice and icebergs, and development of a numerical model for icing and snow are examples of technology-related risk mitigation. In the operational safety perspective, risk mitigation is mainly related to Arctic working environment measures and logistics planning (EER). The conclusion of this paper underlines the importance of early risk identification to ensure development of competence and understanding of the safety and sustainability challenges, and shows how this approach has led to safe and efficient operations in the Arctic.

The oil and gas industry is committed to the protection of people and the environment. Prevention of incidents is of primary importance to meet safety and environmental goals, support global reputation, maintain shareholder confidence, and essential for maintaining a license to operate. Some characteristics of the Arctic operating environment require additional consideration compared to more established offshore regions; however, wherever the industry operates, safety of people and protection of the environment takes priority over all else in the business. The oil and gas industry believes it has the right tools to operate in many Arctic provinces today, but also recognizes the need for continuous focus to improve operating practice (e.g., safety and reliability) and to extend safe practice into more demanding operating conditions. A key success factor in driving this advancement is collaboration. This collaboration comes in the form of both industry working together, and industry working with regulators, private and public stakeholder groups. This paper focuses on advancement initiatives and efforts under the auspices of the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) 1 and places them into the Arctic context. These initiatives include development of new technology, equipment, guidelines, standards, as well as knowledge sharing. The initiatives are aimed at both improving incident prevention and the robustness of response measures.

The Arctic Response Technology Joint Industry Programme (ART JIP) was completed in 2017. The research program focused on priority areas where new research and technology development had the best chance of significantly advancing in the near future, the capability to respond to spills in the presence of ice as well as in open water. Research topics were chosen to encompass all the key elements of an integrated offshore response system: In Situ Burning, Dispersants, Remote Sensing, Environmental Effects, Trajectory Modelling, and Mechanical Recovery. The ART JIP was initiated by nine oil and gas companies and the work executed by leading scientific, engineering, and consulting firms across the globe. The research consolidated a vast amount of existing knowledge in these six key areas to provide a robust and more accessible baseline for future regulators, users and industry representatives concerned with assessing, approving, planning, executing and providing oversight to ensure safe Arctic drilling and production programmes in the future. The scientific research added a significant new knowledge base to the existing peer-reviewed literature on oil spill impacts, herders and burning, dispersants, remote sensing and trajectory modelling. With this new information, these tools can more confidently take their place as response strategies alongside traditional methods such as mechanical recovery. As a result of past efforts and now the ART JIP, a range of operationally proven tools is available to suit specific regional environments, seasons, drilling and production programmes. A fundamental objective of the ART JIP was to make all results from the research effort publicly available. The results, findings, and strategic implications have been extensively documented and the results can be found on the ART JIP's legacy website, conference proceedings, and journals.