via helicopter to offshore locations, (3) to receive emergency supplies 

 for shipment by supply boats to offshore facilities, (4) to transport 

 sick or injured workers to major medical facilities, and (5) to enable 

 administrative and technical personnel from both industry and government 

 to have ready access to the service base [26]. 



6. Roads : Adequate roads between the airport and the service 

 base are essential, since there will undoubtedly be occasions when large 

 quantities of tubular goods and other heavy materials will be transported 

 between the airport and the service base. Similar requirements will be 

 demanded within the service base where heavy loads will be constantly 

 shuttled to and from storage areas. Aside from these basic road require- 

 ments, an adequate road between the service base and the adjacent community 

 will also be needed. 



7. Proximity to an established community : A community can 

 provide the service base with elements essential to its operation that 

 would otherwise have to be brought in or constructed, including labor 

 force, utilities, and local supplies. These factors are discussed in 

 the section on Community Effects. 



8. Temporary base site : During the exploration phase, the number 

 of temporary bases and their distribution among available ports in a 

 region will depend on several factors: the number and distribution of 

 lease holdings, the distance from the port to the leased tracts, and the 

 location of existing bases operated by lease-holding companies. 



The location of bases established during the exploration phase may 

 prove convenient for the development phase as well. However, if the oil 

 field is located a considerable distance from the temporary base used 

 during exploration, the permanent base may be set up in a more convenient 

 location. The incentive to make this move increases if the supply haul 

 is long, if the field is large, or if there are a number of fields being 

 developed. The decision to move may be less complicated for those 

 companies which have not set up semi -permanent facilities during explora- 

 tion. Companies with short-term contracts for mobile rigs, berth space, 

 and back-up land are more likely to move their bases as the offshore 

 exploration proves successful. 



Temporary bases are often set up under less than ideal conditions, 

 since the activity level in the preliminary phase of offshore exploration 

 is relatively low and the future development potential uncertain. 

 Hence, they may have inherent limitations, such as insufficient acreage 

 for expansion, or insufficient linear dock space to support projected 

 future levels of vessel activity brought about by accelerated OCS develop- 

 ment. If such is the case, the company may have to look elsewhere for a 

 site for a permanent base even if the original base site is sufficient 

 in all other respects. Ability to expand the initial site is therefore 



126 



