EDINBURGH, Scotland, Sept. 29 (UPI) -- Energy company Cairn said no hydrocarbons were found after drilling more than 220 miles off the western coast of Greenland in arctic waters.
Cairn said it plugged and abandoned its Delta-1 exploration well, more than 220 miles off of Greenland's coast, "without encountering hydrocarbon shows."
Cairn Chief Executive Officer Simon Thomson, in a Sept. 13 statement declaring drilling activity, said his company would "remain focused on the potential of our multi-basin position in Greenland."
This is at least the third time the Cairn came up empty following a drilling campaign off the coast of Greenland.
Cairn had said its four-well campaign for 2011 targeted various structures in Greenland that have a mean prospective resource potential of 3.2 million barrels of oil equivalent. The company said it planned to invest around $600 million during the drilling campaign.
The government of Greenland approved the location of seven potential exploration drill sites for Cairn.
Activists claim the rush to explore potential new oil and gas reserves in areas exposed by melting arctic sea ice could create safety and environmental problems. Greenpeace said that one exploratory drilling campaign in Greenland's waters discharges more harmful pollutants than all drilling in Norway and Denmark combined.
