the SS Manhattan, and a new generation of submersible vehicles are dem- 

 onstrations of the rapid development of capabilities to explore and produce 

 resources on and beneath the surface of the water in regions heretofore 

 restricted from man's concerted intervention by technological limitations. 



As noted earlier, exploratory drilling for oil has been extended to water 

 depths of 1,500 feet and, within 10 years, actual production should be 

 possible in water four times as deep. This year, as part of the second phase 

 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project, a sonar-based system for reentering drill 

 holes will be tested aboard the Glomar Challenger. Drilling at sea has been 

 seriously hampered by the necessity of abandoning a hole once the drill bit 

 has dulled. Successful introduction of the reentry system will not only open 

 the way for exploratory and development drilling to great depths in the 

 deep ocean but will allow for the placement of seismographs, heat probes, 

 and other instrumentation beneath the sea floor. Also to be tested is a 

 turbocoring unit in which water pressure turns the drill while the drill 

 string remains stationary. 



In response to variety of requirements, the offshore petroleum industry 

 is beginning to move many of its operations under the sea. Last August, 

 a 15,000-ton, 5,000,000-barrel bottomless underwater tank, 20 stories high, 

 was installed in 158 feet of water off Dubai in the Arabian Gulf for the 

 storage of crude oil. (See photograph at beginning of this chapter.) The 

 system avoids the need for onshore storage tanks and underwater pipelines, 

 and may have wide application off countries where lack of deep water port 

 facilities prevents docking of supertankers. 



Beginning this spring, a number of companies including Lockheed, North 

 American Rockwell, and Deep Oil Technology will test prototype petro- 

 leum production systems emplaced beneath the surface of the water on the 

 ocean floor. These systems are designed to give producers the capability to 

 extract petroleum from multiple wells in water depths of 1,500 feet or more, 

 with manned operations conducted under shirtsleeve conditions in an en- 

 closed capsule. The drilling would be accomplished from surface drilling 

 ships. Undersea location of production equipment will reduce storm and 

 marine traffic hazards, and avoid cluttering the oceans and coastal areas 

 with often unsightly surface structures. The President's Panel on Oil Spills, 

 in its report "Offshore Mineral Resources," ^ recommended that the Gov- 

 ernment move in the direction of a policy that would require offshore oil 

 and gas production structures to be totally beneath the surface of the sea 

 in specified areas. 



Technology for the recovery of unconsolidated minerals lying on the 

 seafloor is also advancing. Last year, a submersible dredge, capable of operat- 

 ing up to three-quarters of a mile offshore free from unpredictable air-sea 

 interface effec:s, was placed into operation by Ocean Science & Engineering, 

 Inc., off Florida's east coast in a prototype test sponsored by the Corps of 

 Engineers and the State of Florida. Design and testing of a variety of new 

 concepts in airlift and suction type hydraulic dredges for deep water 

 operations are also underway. 



^ "Offshore Mineral Resources — A Challenge and an Opportunity" ; Second Report 

 of the President's Panel on Oil Spills; Office of Science and Technology, 1969. 



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