First Break - Volume 13, Issue 6, 1995

Shallow stratigraphic drilling has been widely used over the last decade for oil and gas exploration on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The main objective of shallow stratigraphic drilling is to obtain geological information on strata subcropping within a few hundred M of the seabed.

Detailed sea-bed geology (stratigraphy, faulting, lateral facies variation) of deep water areas (over 300 m water depth) is nowadays being explored, both for scientific purposes such as a better insight into marine sedimentary processes and tectonics, and for future offshore industry developments. This requires us to address new technical challenges.