Infoterra to map oil slicks over Baffin Bay

19 March 2009, 4:10am

19th March 2009 - Infoterra, a leader in the provision of geographic information products and services, has been appointed to undertake 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 km2 area.

Infoterra's team of experts will characterise and rank all oil slicks as probable natural seepage or man-made pollution immediately the 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 both time and money. 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. 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," stated Mette Runge, Geologist for Nunaoil.

Seep data over Baffin Bay will be added to Infoterra's Global Seeps database, which is available to be licenced by oil exploration companies to help focus exploration effort and minimise environmental impact.

Infoterra's Global Seeps database

Geo: International