Infoterra to conduct oil slick mapping over Baffin bay

March 24, 2009
Infoterra is undertaking an oil slick mapping and interpretation project over Baffin bay for Nunaoil, the National Oil Company of Greenland.

Offshore staff

LEICESTER, UK -- Infoterra is undertaking an oil slick mapping and interpretation project over Baffin bay for Nunaoil, the National Oil Company of Greenland.

This project will begin in July and extend through to October, with the acquisition of approximately 480 radar satellite images over the 240,000-sq-km (92,665-sq-mi) area.

Infoterra will characterize and rank all oil slicks as probable natural seepage or man-made pollution immediately after satellite imagery is received and will report the results to Nunaoil on a weekly basis. This approach is a powerful method for assessing the probability of the presence of a mature source rock and an active petroleum system, saving time and money, the company says. The team will also map the location and movement of all sea ice and icebergs visible on the imagery.

"Offshore Baffin bay is a frontier exploration region so this ranked seep data from Infoterra will prove extremely valuable to our exploration teams," says Mette Runge, Geologist for Nunaoil. "In this area ice can be a major issue for us, so this study of the ice flow will enhance our knowledge and therefore enable more efficient planning of field surveys."

Seep data over Baffin bay will be added to Infoterra's Global Seeps database which can be licensed by oil exploration companies to help focus exploration effort and minimize environmental impact.

03/24/2009