Deepwater problems bring new solutions

This article reports on possible solutions to the problems caused by deepwater drilling. Participants in the National Science Foundations Ocean Margin Drilling Program, while preparing to drill cased holes in water depths to 13,200 feet have outlined the more significant problems of drilling at this depth. Modified drilling equipment and procedures present a possible avenue to solving the problems associated with deepwater drilling. Four basic problems that are addressed are: casing designs which take into account low fracture gradients in the formations, elimination of circulating pressure losses resulting from extreme temperature changes and long lines, elimination of the occurence of clathrates in formations under deepwater, and selection of a riser system sufficient to deal with internal and external pressures yet providing for disconnect. This article indicates that the design of drilling equipment and modified systems present possible solutions to the problems associated with deepwater drilling.