475 



feet of water to $4 million in 350 feet, and an expected $12 million in 

 600 feet. 00 



The cost of drilling and completing a platform well rises from 

 $200,000 in 100 feet of water to $425,000 in 350 feet. Adding a share 

 of the platform cost, the cost of drilling and completing a 12,000-foot 

 underwater exploratory well is $550,000 in 100 feet of water. When 

 projected to 600 and 1,000 feet of water the cost rises to $990,000 and 

 $1.10(1.000, respectively. 



As petroleum operations are conducted in progressively deeper 

 water, they require more and more sophisticated equipment. Remote 

 control devices are an emerging necessity. Such refinements add sig- 

 nificantly to the cost of recovery. One very important factor in under- 

 water operations is the mobility and overall efficiency of divers. The 

 deepest working dive on record was to 700 feet, and laboratory simu- 

 lated dives have exceeded 1,700 feet. In April 1970, divers from the 

 British Royal Navy succeeded in making a "dry dive" to 1,500 feet. 

 Later in 1970, two French divers participating in project Physalie 5 

 made a record dive to more than 1,700 feet. The project is aiming 

 at depths close to 2,000 feet. 



Saturation diving capabilities have been extended at a rate of 

 approximately 125 feet per year during the past six or seven years, 

 but diver capability will probably be limited for the foreseeable future 

 to less than 1,500 feet. Furthermore, new drilling and completion sys- 

 tems have been developed to minimize the need for divers. 



FUTURE TRENDS 



It is hard to keep up with the speed at which the offshore oil tech- 

 nology is advancing; what is postulated as an artist's conception 

 today may become a working model by the time these words appear 

 in print. As water depth increases, it becomes necessary to abandon 

 above- water platform equipment and resort to bottom installation and 

 production systems. 



Underwater wellheads to control the flow of oil or gas from a well 

 have been installed in numerous locations around the world, some 

 connected directly to shore facilities. An interesting concept in pro- 

 ducing oil and gas in deep water is represented by WODECO's under- 

 water sphere for drilling and production. 61 This sphere includes a 

 shirt-sleeve environment at a submerged depth of 150 feet (25-pound 

 pressure per square inch), wellheads, separating, metering, and pump- 

 ing equipment. It is designed to be effective in water depths exceed- 

 ing the 1,300 feet which is the oil industry's immediate target for 

 operating depths. 62 



40 John L. Kennedy. "Offshore-rig construction costs will continue to climb." The Oil 

 and Gas Journal (March 16, 1970), pages 136-140. Recent Federal changes in offshore 

 regulations (expanded OCS Order No. 8) require safety and anti-pollution equipment 

 which is believed by the oil industry to increase production costs about $150 million. 

 Annual pollution control expenditures by petroleum companies in the United States 

 totalled $271.4 million for 1966, $357.9 million for 1967, and $381.6 for 1968. ("An 

 interim report on current key issues relating to environmental conservation — the oil 

 and gas industries." Prepared by the National Petroleum Council's Committee on Environ- 

 mental Conservation — The Oil and Gas Industries. ( Jun^ 22, 1970), page 5.) 



61 Western Offshore Drilling and Exploration Co. (Fluor Drilling Services, Inc.). The 

 company's project manager indicated that the concept is still under development, and 

 has undergone changes in design. Its use depends on favorable conditions other than 

 technology. 



92 This target depth is directly related to known resources in the California offshore 

 fields, which illustrates the influence of discovery on the push for technological develop- 

 ment. 



