Once the field is considered ready for development, 

 a fixed platform is installed from which as many as 20 to 

 30 wells may be drilled. When the drilling phase has 

 ceased, the drilling equipment is disassembled and produc- 

 tion equipment is installed on the platform (Council on 

 Environmental Quality, 1974-1: 60). Directional drilling 

 is a drilling procedure used by many companies to reach 

 remote areas of a reservoir from a single fixed platform 

 (Figure 1.7). 



If the quantity of oil found in a reservoir is considered 



sufficient for commercial development, production results only 



after completion of the well: 



Completion can include setting and cementing 

 casing, perforating (cutting holes in the 

 casing which will permit oil or gas to flow from 

 the formation into the well hole), fracturing 

 (applying pressure or using explosives to 

 increase permeability), acidizing (using acid 

 to enlarge openings in the rock formation), 

 consolidating sand (to keep sand from entering 

 the well bore) , setting tubing (conduit for 

 routing the oil or gas to the surface), and 

 'installing downhole safety devices (valves 

 installed to prevent blowouts during production). 

 Several of these completion activities are aimed 

 at increasing production rate. If performed 

 after initial completion, they are considered 

 servicing or workover operations (Kash et_al. , 

 1973: 59-60). 



Equipment on production platforms is used in a variety 

 of ways to alter the crude oil and make it ready for shipment 

 to onshore facilities for refining. The equipment used to 

 separate the crude into oil, gas, water, and solid impuri- 

 ties on a typical production platform is illustrated in 



Figure 1.8. 



23 



