Abstract Hydrocarbon development in arctic regions presents formidable challenges tothe petroleum industry. The Centre for Arctic Resource Development (CARD)serves as focal point for planning, coordinating and conducting research tofill gaps in the knowledge, technology, methodology and training needed toovercome these barriers. CARD research programs have been organized into coreareas of Ice Mechanics, Ice Management and Station-Keeping in Ice, and arerelated through the common activities of Floating System Modelling andLarge-Scale Experiments.
A brief description of proposed research and development (R&D) plans inthe areas of Ice Mechanics, Ice Management, Large-Scale Experiments, FloatingSystem Modelling and Station-keeping in Ice is provided below. Three of theseare core areas, while the activities in Large-Scale Experiments and FloatingSystem Modelling will draw upon expertise from the core areas. Structures andvessels designed for arctic operations must have adequate structural strengthto allow for safe operations under the extreme ice loads expected during theiroperational lifetimes; research in this area is a strong focus of the plannedwork.
The initiatives described in this plan represent the major priorities andrange of activities that CARD will undertake with guidance from the CARDIndustry Advisory Committee (IAC) to overcome challenges associated with arctichydrocarbon development. It is expected that research programmes will befurther developed and refined as Principal Investigators are hired for each ofthe core research areas and they bring the full extent of their knowledge andexpertise into CARD.