2.5 — TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT NEEDS AND POTENTIALS 



The technological advancement needs of offshore develop- 

 ment consist basically of two types: (a) improvement of exis- 

 ting technology in order to increase efficiency, prevent spills 

 and accidents, and minimize environmental impacts of present 

 operations on the continental shelf; and (b) modification of 

 existing technology and development of new technology in order 

 to exploit the potential resources lying in the deeper waters 

 beyond the continental shelf. 



Relative to the improvement of existing technology, Kash , 

 et al . , (1973) have identified the technological needs in 

 several categories of OCS operations. These categories include: 

 drilling, production, transportation, and accident response. 



Successful drilling involves a delicate balance 

 between the weight of the drilling mud and upward pressure 

 exerted by the oil and/or gas reservoir (downhole pressure). 

 Any sudden loss of mud, increase in downhole pressure, or 

 sudden change in drilling rate is an indication of danger. The 

 operation is particularly vulnerable when the drill string is 

 moved into or out of the well bore. While human error due to 

 inexperience, poor training, or inadequate procedures are the ma- 

 jor problems, technological advances to alleviate the situa- 

 tion include improved monitoring of mud weight and downhole 

 pressure, longer-lasting bits to reduce the number of times 

 the drill string must be removed from the bore, separation of 

 wellheads (on multiwell platforms), and fail-safe designs of 



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