A sump will be dug just inside the levee all around the wellsite. This 

 will collect water leaking in, as well as rainwater, so that it may be pumped 

 outside the site. A reserve pit for produced mud may be excavated within the 

 site and lined if necessary. In some areas, this pit has been as large as 91 

 by 91 m (300 by 300 ft). However, there is a trend to use steel pits in leveed 

 wellsites. In older sites, the excavated pits took up as much as half the 

 area. Trucks carrying boards enter, and a three-ply board foundation is laid 

 directly on the marsh surface. Sometimes piles must be driven where the rig 

 will sit to provide extra bearing capacity. The board mat may remain after 

 drilling if further wells are placed on the site. 



Dredged location sites. The dredge that prepared the access channel often 

 continues into the wellsite location. Usually spoil is placed almost completely 

 around the slip, keeping a berm between the edge of the dredged area and the 

 spoil pile itself. The slip has a characteristic shape, widening from the 

 canal width of 21 to 42 m (70 to 140 ft), and running 91 to 121 m (300 to 

 400 ft) long. The area that is widened beyond the channel width is the actual 

 location, for the submersible drilling platform; usually the wellhead is placed 

 about two-thirds of the distance to the end. Slip dimensions are the result of 

 equipment size, a typical barge being about 15 m (50 ft) wide. Generally, no 

 mud pits are excavated since barges are used to contain the fluids. The slip 

 is extended beyond the wellhead so there will be room for mud barges and supply 

 barges alongside the rig during drilling. 



Auxiliary services to wellsite. Services to the site are often needed. 

 Water must be available for mud consistency control and cleaning. In areas 

 where a water supply is readily available, the drilling company will lay tempo- 

 rary lines and buy water. However, in more remote locations a water well may 

 be drilled. Sanitary facilities are usually portable chemical toilets that are 

 moved to the site by truck. On exploratory wells, communication is achieved by 

 radiotelephone, and electric power is obtained from diesel generators. However, 

 when many wells are being drilled in a known field, telephone lines may be 

 placed, and natural gas may be piped in from other wells to provide electricity. 



If water is purchased for supply or if natural gas is used for fuel for 

 generators, it is the usual practice to lay temporary surface pipelines to the 

 wellsite. A rough route is determined, and minor brush clearing may take place 

 along the route. Trucks with pipe and equipment move along the route. The 

 pipe is laid directly on the ground unless it must pass some obstruction. 

 Generally, a tractor-mounted backhoe suffices for any earthwork necessary. For 

 ease of inspection, laying, and removal, the pipes often parallel the roads to 

 the wellsite. When dikes run out to a marsh site, the pipes are often placed 

 along the edge of the dike. 



Usually temporary poles are used to run a telephone line to the drill 

 site. This involves digging post holes, placing the poles, and attaching the 

 wire to the poles. Temporary telephone lines are seldom laid directly on the 

 ground since some wildlife species - particularly nutria - will chew off the 

 insulation. 



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