Fugro OSAE GmbH has been awarded a €3.6 million hydrographic survey contract by the Norwegian Hydrographic Service (NHS). The survey encompasses an area of over 13,200sq km in the Barents Sea and the Norwegian Sea and is part of Norway’s MAREANO project. A contract option allows for the extension of the survey area by two thirds.
The area in the Barents Sea is located at the northern-most part of Norway, near the Russian border, in 150-250m water depth.
In the Norwegian Sea the survey area is about 100mi. offshore with 400-800m water depth.
These sections are adjacent to the area surveyed by Fugro in 2011-2013. Data processing will take place onboard the survey vessel and at Fugro OSAE’s processing centre in Bremen, Germany.
MAREANO is Norway’s program to fill knowledge gaps related to seabed conditions and biodiversity along the northern Norwegian coast. The goal is to contribute to a better knowledge base for resource management, in particular for fishing and oil and gas exploitation.
The acquisition of detailed and accurate bathymetry is an important first step in the collection of seafloor data.
Fugro OSAE has conducted surveys as a part of the MAREANO project area for the past seven years, as well as collecting high resolution bathymetry data for Norwegian electronic nautical charting (ENC).