IV-314 



ESTUARINE MINING AND PROCESSING 



Actual extraction of both hard and soft minerals from the estuaries 

 1s presently limited. By far the most valuable and potentially pro- 

 fitable mining activities 1n the estuary areas are petroleum extrac- 

 tion, gas and sulphur recovery, and sand, gravel, and shell dredging. 

 It 1s important to note that the primary activity of extraction, with 

 the exception of sand and gravel dredging, has had relatively little 

 effect on the estuarine environment. Such secondary activities as 

 petroleum refining, transport by pipeline or ship, and petro-chemlcal 

 processing have had much greater impact. Finally, the marginal acti- 

 vities which grow up to support the populations drawn to areas of heavy 

 petroleum extraction and secondary industry also place a heavy burden 

 on the guality of the estuarine zone. 



Petroleum (oil and gas) dominates present and projected mining activity 

 1n the offshore regions of the United States, accounting for over 84 

 percent of offshore mineral production 1n 1966. Offshore sources supply 

 a relatively small, but rapidly Increasing, share of the total domestic 

 oil output. 



As Table IV. 4. 7 Illustrates, offshore production of petroleum has grown 

 steadily 1n the past decade, rising from less than 3 percent of total 

 production in 1958 to nearly 10 percent in 1967. If exploration, tech- 

 nologies of recovery, and demands advance at expected rates, 1t is pro- 

 jected that 20 percent of total domestic production 1n 1980 -- about 

 one billion barrels — may come from the offshore marine region. 



