News Release
For Immediate Release
Chevron Helps Explore for Deepwater Marine Life
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador – September 18, 2006 – Scientists from Memorial University of Newfoundland (MUN), the University of Southampton, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board are learning about the marine life that lives deep beneath two kilometres of water thanks to Chevron Canada Limited and its co-venturer participants who are drilling an exploration well in the Orphan Basin offshore Newfoundland and Labrador.
Chevron Canada Limited, Shell Canada Limited, ExxonMobil Canada Limited and Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited are joint-supporting the research project that enables scientists to get rare visual images of life on the ocean floor from technology normally used to monitor drilling operations.
Chevron began drilling the Great Barasway F-66 exploration well on August 18, 2006 in the Orphan Basin on behalf of itself and its co-venture participants ExxonMobil, Shell Canada and Imperial Oil. The well is located 390 kilometers northeast of St. John’s, in water about 2,350 meters deep.
The Great Barasway well will mark the first Canadian participation in the SERPENT Project. SERPENT (Scientific and Environmental ROV Partnership using Existing INdustrial Technology) is an international collaborative program led by the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, U.K., and involves oil and gas operators, scientific partners and academic institutions in furthering the understanding of deepwater ecosystems beyond the range of most scientific studies.
The work will focus on the scientific use of an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle), a remotely controlled, unmanned mini-submarine, which is used to support deepwater drilling operations. The ROV is in the process of collecting video, digital camera shots and sediment samples for analysis by MUN and Southampton scientists.
“This is a tremendous opportunity to add some interesting science to routine ROV operations” says Paul MacMillan, Chevron’s Orphan Project Manager. “We are delighted to be working on such a unique project with such a wide variety of associates.” Adds Dr. Paul Snelgrove, Associate Professor, Canada Research Chair in Boreal & Cold Ocean Systems, Ocean Sciences Centre from MUN: “It is encouraging that Chevron is using its resources to assist in our deepwater research. Our ability to survey these depths is very limited by the number of available scientific ROVs. ”
SERPENT is active in a number of other areas around the world, including Australia, the U.K., Norway, the Gulf of Mexico, and West Africa. “The SERPENT project gives scientists around the world a privileged view of the deep ocean that we would not otherwise be able to access on such a regular basis,” explained Dr. Janne Kaariainen, SERPENT Project Research Scientist. “The project has already enabled us to see some incredible animals in their natural habitat, including several potential new species. And our growing network of partners will only increase our opportunities to see more.”
The project will provide an ideal opportunity to explore and search for fish and other creatures that inhabit the cold, dark deepwater environment of the Orphan Basin. The team expects that sea life that lives in similar deepwater habitat in the North Atlantic will also be seen in the Orphan Basin.
Project reports will come in on a regular basis, and will be posted on SERPENT’s website in the near future.
Chevron Canada Limited is the operator of the Great Barasway well in the Orphan basin with 50% ownership. Co-venture participants are ExxonMobil Canada Limited (15%), Imperial Oil Resources Ventures Limited (15%), and Shell Canada Limited (20%).
For more information, contact: Tim Murphy, Chevron Canada Limited, Phone: 709-757-6108.