The value of offshore field experiments in oil spill technology development for Norwegian waters

• About 40 experimental oil spills have been performed in Norwegian waters since 1978.
• Important for basic knowledge in development of oil spill response technology
• Weathering processes in surface oil slicks and diversity in behavior among oil types
• Developed state-of-the-art 3D models for oil spill contingency and response (OSCAR)
• Given better understanding of limitations and potentials of each response option

The blowout on the Ekofisk field in the North Sea in 1977 initiated R&D efforts in Norway focusing on improving oil spill contingency in general and more specifically on weathering processes and modeling drift and spreading of oil spills. Since 1978, approximately 40 experimental oil spills have been performed under controlled conditions in open and ice covered waters in Norway. The importance of these experimental oil spills for understanding oil spill behavior, development of oil spill and response models, and response technologies are discussed here. The large progress within oil spill R&D in Norway since the Ekofisk blowout has been possible through a combination of laboratory testing, basin studies, and experimental oil spills. However, it is the authors' recommendation that experimental oil spills still play an important role as a final validation for the extensive R&D presently going on in Norway, e.g. deep-water releases of oil and gas.