Offshore drilling and oil recovery: keys to half a century

Journal Article · Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 EDT 1979 · Pet. Eng. Int.; (United States)

OSTI ID:6248383

Kastrop, J E

Technological and structural developments in offshore drilling and oil recovery during the past 50 yr are reviewed. The earliest steps into the open sea were pier and pile-supported rigs built off the California and Louisiana coasts in the 1920s and 1930s, respectively. Jackup rigs were designed to lift the rig above storm wave level, and currently 53% of the world's offshore drilling fleet is of jackup design. The fixed-leg submersible drilling barge was designed for use in relatively shallow waters, and the semisubmersible drilling rig was an improvement which allowed the entire rig structure to maintain a floating position in the water. About one-third of the world's offshore drilling fleet is made up of semisubmersibles. Conversion of available sea-going vessels into drillships has also matured into the manufacture of specially designed drillships which are fully movable anywhere in the world under their own power and are equipped to operate for months without support. The refinement of enhanced oil recovery is also discussed with regard to 4 basic processes: hydrocarbon miscible drive, carbon dioxide miscible drive, chemical flooding, and thermal processes.

• OSTI ID: 6248383
• Journal Information: Pet. Eng. Int.; (United States), Vol. 51:10
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
HISTORICAL ASPECTS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
CALIFORNIA
CONSTRUCTION
DRILLING EQUIPMENT
DRILLING RIGS
LOUISIANA
NATURAL GAS DEPOSITS
NATURAL GAS WELLS
OFFSHORE DRILLING
OFFSHORE PLATFORMS
OIL WELLS
PETROLEUM
PETROLEUM DEPOSITS
PRODUCTION
REVIEWS
WELL STIMULATION
DOCUMENT TYPES
DRILLING
ENERGY SOURCES
EQUIPMENT
FEDERAL REGION IX
FEDERAL REGION VI
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
INDUSTRY
MINERAL RESOURCES
NORTH AMERICA
RESOURCES
STIMULATION
USA
WELLS
020300* - Petroleum- Drilling & Production
030300 - Natural Gas- Drilling
Production
& Processing