1007 



121 



The site requirements for steel platform fabrications are as follows : " 



1. Proximity to the oil fields. 



2. Large flat land area, at least 200 acres, more commonly 

 around 1,000 acres.^» " 



3. Access to water 30 to 60 feet deep. 



4. Communication by land, sea, and air. 



5. Access to a large labor force (up to 1,200 men per platform), 

 including many skilled welders.^^ 



If the proposed Brown and Root facility in Cape Charles, Virginia 

 is indicative, capital investment per facility will run about 40 million 

 dollars.^' 



Several requirements for concrete platform fabrication yards are 

 somewhat different : " 



1. The flat land required is much less (as little as 20 acres). 



2. Deeper water is needed, from 30-120 feet inshore, and 180 

 feet and up for later stages of construction. 



The impacts generated by platform fabrication will again be con- 

 centrated at the water's edge. Concrete platforms may not be acceptable 

 on the Atlantic and Pacific continental shelves; also obtaining har- 

 bors with sufficient depth to construct them may be impossible. There- 

 fore at least in the contiguous states, steel platform fabrication facili- 

 ties will probably predominate. Their large land requirements may 

 necessitate rural siting, whereupon the large labor force needed could 

 cause severe dislocation and infrastructure problems for coastal com- 

 munities. Indeed, Urban Pathfinders stated in their impact assessment 

 of the proposed Brown and Root staging facility that potential dis- 

 benefits seeme to outweigh any economic benefits. ^^ 



C. Associated manufdcturing ^® 



In addition to platform fabricating, coimtless other construction 

 tasks of varying sizes must occur to bring oil fields into production. 

 Necessary tasks include the building of exploration rigs (jack-ups, 

 semi-submersibles) , supply vessels, deck modules, pumping equipment, 

 generators, and pipe coating capacity. 



These facilities fall primarily into two classes : 



(i) Those whose physical requirements, especially the need 

 for easy water access, are the deciding factors and essentially 

 dictate coastal sites. 



(ii) Those in which appropriate skills and experience are of 

 overriding importance. Such facilities have a much greater range 

 of possible sites and a much lesser coastal dependence. 

 "Whereas much of the expenditure necessary to bring oil fields into 

 production is consumed by construction work, services and by wages 

 and salaries of employees both on and offshore, there remains a con- 

 siderable expenditure on equipment and materials of types which 

 would be produced anywhere in the country." ^^ 



» Scotland and Oil. p. 47. 



'"Woodward-Clyde Consnltanta. 1975. "Mld-Atlantlc Regional Study", p. 26. 



'1 Pamela and Malcolm Baldwin, 1975, "Onshore Planning for Offshore OH", p. 75. 



"Baldwin, p. 72. 



" Woodward-Clvde, p. 26. 



" Scotland and Oil. p. 47. 



" Urban Pathfinders Inc., 197,5. "Brown and Root Impact Study", p. 56. 



" This section draws from Scotland and OH, pp. 47-8. 



" Scotland and Oil, p. 48. 



