The Faroes GEM - An Ideal Case of an Oil Industry Co-Operation Prior to a First Licensing Round

Abstract

The Faroe Islands are planning to open their territorial waters to oil exploration and production in 1998, when they have their first licensing round. The Faroese economy is presently dependent upon fisheries, with fishing, fish farming and processing accounting for almost 95% of all exports. The seas surrounding the Faroes are renowned for their cleanliness, and are of importance for cetaceans and seabirds as well as fish. In a unique collaboration, 23 oil companies have already started to work together in conjunction with the Faroese Petroleum Administration and Institutes in order to gather data on the environment around the islands. The main objective of the joint industry/institute group is to gather sufficient data to enable operators to carry out environmental risk assessments for future exploration drilling offshore the Faroe Islands. This paper describes the work and philosophy of the Faroes GEM, whose workgroups are studying the Geotechnical, Environmental and Metocean aspects of prospective areas of interest on the Faroese Continental Shelf.