NATIONAL OCEANOGRAPHIC PROGRAM—1965 
It will probably need federal assistance in devel- 
oping, building, and operating such improved 
gear. It especially needs intervention by the Fed- 
eral Government in developing international 
agreements on fisheries management. For as 
the inevitable increase in take occurs, whether 
or not Americans help produce it, the problems 
of rational exploitation discussed in the previous 
chapter will become critical. The scientific knowl- 
edge needed to further this national goal by ef- 
fective participation in international regulatory 
bodies is critical for the fisheries whose livelihood 
is at stake. 
C. Offshore Oil Industry 
Offshore oil production in the United States 
began in the Gulf of Mexico from the Creole 
field adjacent to the Louisiana shoreline in 1938. 
It was followed by somewhat slower development 
off the California and Texas coasts. 
Today there are also oil and gas fields produc- 
ing in many inland bodies of water throughout 
the world, such as in Lake Erie. The largest off- 
shore oilfield in marine waters is in the Persian 
Gulf, off the coasts of Saudi Arabia and the nearby 
Neutral Zone. Other producing fields are in the 
Gulf of Suez, off the shores of Venezuela, Japan, 
Mexico, Trinidad, and Peru. Operations are ex- 
pected to be extended both geographically and 
in depth. 
The magnitude of the offshore operations is 
illustrated by figures for the Louisiana marine 
area. Total investment at the end of 1962 exceeded 
$3 billion, with a forecast of $2.6 billion to be 
invested in the next five years. From 1938 to July 1, 
1962, a total of 4325 wells had been drilled. Liquid 
hydrocarbon proved reserves exceed 2 billion 
barrels, plus 12 trillion cubic feet of natural gas 
reserves. In the essentially unexplored water 
depths of 100 to 600 feet, some 250 new oil and 
gas fields are expected to be found eventually. 
As many more fields may be found in shallower 
waters in the Louisiana area. 
Oil production in this area, beyond the three- 
mile limit, has increased steadily from 3 million 
barrels in 1954, to 11 million in 1956, 36 million 
in 1959, and almost 88 million barrels in 1962. 
Offshore natural gas production has had a simi- 
lar growth, with cumulative sales for all offshore 
Louisiana now 2 trillion cubic feet. 
20 
453 
Project Mohole (not fiscally included in the Na- 
tional Oceanographic Program), a plan to drill 
through the earth’s crust into the mantle, has dem- 
onstrated in the first phase of operations that 
drilling can be done in water as deep as 12,000 
feet, and subsequent phases should enhance off- 
shore drilling technology. An industry drilling 
vessel is now operating in 277 feet of water 40 
miles from the Louisiana shore. This equipment 
is designed for use in waters 600 feet deep. 
Cost is the major problem of the oil and gas 
industry in offshore operations. Equipment in- 
vestment costs obviously are much greater than 
for onshore exploration, drilling, and production. 
Drilling and operating costs for a 10,000-foot well 
are about 50 percent more offshore than onshore. 
However, offshore drilling to date has been more 
productive (about 4 to 1) in terms of reserves 
found. 
The oil industry has been relatively self-reliant 
in its oceanography and underwater geology. In- 
formation in its files on the topography and struc- 
ture of many areas along the continental shelf 
probably exceeds that available elsewhere in both 
scientific quality and quantity. The beneficial effect 
of permanent structures and islands at sea on 
fishing is well-known. These structures attract fish 
and provide a desirable environment for them. 
This in turn attracts fishermen. Underwater tele- 
vision cameras used by the industry already have 
photographed forms of sea life not known before. 
Technically, many of the innovations developed in 
the search for oil under the seas have been imme- 
diately useful to other industries and other scien- 
tific pursuits. Much geological data, now unavail- 
able for proprietary reasons, would also be of 
great general value if the oil industry finds itself 
in a position to release it in the future. Exploration 
of marine areas by the oil industry has been largely 
confined to areas of considerable economic poten- 
tial, as for example, along the Gulf Coast and the 
coast of California where producing fields and 
geologic conditions of promise extend seaward. As 
on land, the industry looks to government for ex- 
ploration in areas of unknown or marginal oil and 
gas potential. 
D. The Sea-Mining Industry 
Diamonds are recovered along the coast of South 
Africa, tin is dredged from shallow waters off the 
