Production pipelines have been laid successfully in 
340 feet of water. 
Drilling capability in the last 10 years has 
progressed from water depths of about 100 feet to 
more than 600 feet. Leases have been granted by 
the Department of the Interior for petroleum ex- 
ploration and production more than 100 miles off 
U.S. shores and in waters to 1,800 feet deep. About 
100 core holes already have been drilled beyond 
the U.S. Continental Shelves, some in waters nearly 
5,000 feet deep. It is expected that in 1969 
production will be established in waters as deep as 
400 feet, and exploratory wells will be drilled in 
the Santa Barbara Channel in water depths ranging 
to 1,300 feet. 
The fact that leases already have been sold in 
water exceeding 1,800 feet does not necessarily 
mean that the industry now is prepared to buy 
leases this deep in other world areas. Many 
favorable factors pertaining to the Santa Barbara 
Channel more than compensated for the depths: 
the prospective fields are close to land; the 
oceanographic and meteorological conditions are 
less severe than in such other locations as the Gulf 
of Mexico; oil is in short supply in that area; and 
there are no allowable restrictions. 
Underwater operation offers the following 
potential advantages: 
—Extension of production capabilities to greater 
depths than those for which fixed platforms are 
economical. 
—Minimization of damage to platforms because of 
hurricanes, severe storms, and shifting founda- 
tions. 
—Elimination of navigation hazards. 
—More flexibility in operating under ice. 
Many studies and successful tests already have 
been made to service underwater wells with 
remote controlled televiewing robots, with 
through-the-flowline maintenance and treatment 
tools, with hydraulically controlled surface lines, 
and with remote acoustically controlled valving 
systems operating from conventional and isotope 
energy sources. The technology of remotely oper- 
ated tools in itself has required ingenuity to insure 
reliability. 
V1-178 
Most remote control and monitoring tests have 
employed a physical link to the surface; however, 
there are obvious advantages to having no physical 
link. An acoustic link has been used to command a 
subsea system to supply electric current to operate 
a particular valve, to monitor the position of a 
valve, and to obtain various data such as pressure. 
Acoustic links also are beginning to find an 
important role during the drilling operation when 
used in conjunction with blowout preventers. 
Acoustic bottom mounted transponders are being 
evaluated to enable a drilling ship to return to the 
precise location of a subsea well head and as an aid 
to re-enter a hole on the sea floor. 
The fact that the industry is buying leases in 
ever deeper waters implies that the bidders expect 
it will be economically and technically feasible to 
produce in deep water. However, each field is 
different in water depth, reserves, size and nature 
of the reservoir, closeness to shore, value of the 
product, production rate, and many other perti- 
nent factors. 
For collection, storage, or transportation a few 
miles offshore a simple short pipeline system 
generally will suffice; in a distant sea, storage may 
have to be provided for intermittent delivery to 
shuttling tankers. In either case, some subsea 
completion, production, and storage features may 
enhance the system’s economic capability. In any 
particular area it is likely that several different 
techniques will be employed. 
Future economical production in deep water 
will depend on the most favorable choice of 
surface, completely underwater, or some hybrid 
technology. The industry will continue to engage 
in prototype undersea operations in order to make 
the best estimates of cost and benefit trade-offs 
and to take maximum advantage of deep water 
reserves. 
In summary, various oil companies believe that 
by 1980 an increasing number of installations will 
be on the bottom of the sea, not on the surface. In 
these areas drilling will continue to be conducted 
essentially from the surface, but oil well opera- 
tions and some temporary storage facilities will be 
on the bottom. 
Recommendations: 
The Government should maintain a proper legal 
and political environment to support industry as it 
