A Method of Drilling in Deep Water

Abstract

Abstract The waning supplies of domestic petroleum make it desirable to develop oilfields in new provinces, among the most attractive of which appear to besubmarine deposits; notably, in the Great Lakes. The author's portable openfoundations and means of oil-field development are presented. His designs for30 to 100 ft. of water, and for 100 to 600 ft., which offer possibilities ofcompletely exploiting the continental shelves, are set forth. It is emphasizedthat foundations must be of sufficiently low cost to be attractive. A methodfor overcoming ice hazards is outlined. Introduction New sources of petroleum and natural gas are beneath large bodies of watersuch as the Great Lakes, except Lake Superior, and ultimately the continentalshelves. It is now particularly desirable to exploit the Great Lakes because:there is an acute shortage of petroleum and natural gas in the surroundingarea;the Lakes are far inland and safe from enemy raidersthey offerthe shallowest possible sources remaining in this countrythe water isnot as rough as in the open seas. The one discouraging condition, floating ice in the winter, should offer noproblem. In the Great Lakes, four places appear attractive for prospecting for oil:the western end of Lake Eriethe northwest half of Saginaw Baythe east side of Lake Michigan between Benton Harbor and Ludingtontheshallow south end of Lake Huron. The title to submerged lands beneath navigable waters of the United Statesis owned by the various states. The boundaries are established. Leasing wouldhave to be from the states, but before mineral could be extracted, approvalmust be obtained from the War Department. Methods of Development The shallower parts of such small bodies of water as the western end of LakeErie, Lake St. Clair or Saginaw Bay, could be prospected and drilled by thesubmersible barge of Giliasso, one of which can keep a single string of toolsrunning for about eight months of the year. Some of the deepest wells have beendrilled from submersible barges in the bays and bayous of the Gulf Coast. TheCedar Point field in Galveston Bay was developed by barge drilling. This methodat present is limited to water less than 10 ft. deep, and is not suitable inopen water like that offshore in the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean. T.P. 1722