2007 Volume 72 Issue 1 Pages 16-25
Offshore oil and gas development activities began after World War II. For several decades jacket type production systems were widely used for shallow water oil and gas projects. In 1970s floating type systems (semi-sub and FPSO) appeared in deeper waters where the fixed type could not be technically or economically installed. The deepwater age began in the 1990s when technical break-throughs were realized in the floater design, mooring design, large crane barge capacity and subsea completion technology as their engineering and analytical capabilities had advanced. At present, those technologies enable us to drill in water depth of more than 3,000m and to produce hydrocarbons in water depth of 2,300m.
We may envisage soon that crude will be recovered from under 3,000m water depths if high oil prices continue, especially in the Gulf of Mexico and/or offshore Brazil where advanced offshore technology has been created by industry. There are still some hurdles to overcome, such as floater capability expansion, subsea boosting and processing reliability enhancement, flow assurance and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) technology.
