Most offshore development drilling and production has continued to use onshore technology and equipment. The development of a field in moderate water depths has been substantially more expensive than a comparable field onshore. Although costs per well continue to rise, in most cases they have remained within the economic limits required to justify the invested capital.

There does exist, however, for any given field, a water depth beyond which it is not economically feasible to consider development from fixed platforms.

The proper location of the platform in relation to the reservoir can be determined only by exploratory drilling. This location becomes increasingly important as the platform costs in deep water escalate. The costs add further to the penalty for attempting to meet the problems of deep-water development with conventional platform techniques.

There are economic attractions associated with ocean-floor installations that have not been fully realized. The minimization of the investment required prior to drilling, the installation of specialized sea-floor production systems, and the use of highly efficient maintenance units throughout the producing life of the field, all combine to present a solution to the recovery of petroleum from otherwise prohibitive locations.

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