Platform for petroleum prospecting at sea

Abstract

The increasing consumption of petroleum makes it necessary to seek new producing areas, especially in the neighbourhood of the main consumption districts. The rock layers containing petroleum often extend beneath the sea, and in such cases the method of extraction of the petroleum involves specialised techniques, which depend on the nature of the site. The first tests were out in the Gulf of Mexico, where the sea is shallow and mainly calm. In Europe the problem is different, since the sea is usually deeper and more agitated, so that the classical drilling methods cannot be applied. To overcome these difficulties the floating platforms were introduced. These are taken to a given site, and fixed there. The French firm Neptune has two such platforms: «Neptune I» and «Neptune-Gascogne», whose functional features are described in this article. These platforms have three fixed points of support on the soil, but in the near future, to be able to reach depths of 200 to 300 m, it will be necessary to do without the fixed points of support, as they greatly limit the use of the platforms. Submergible platforms, with static or dynamic anchorage systems, are being studied, and it is hoped to carry out trials fairly soon.