The Science & Technology Journal of the Minerals Management SErvice

Volume 4 Issue 3

MMS

July/August/September 2007

SCIENCE

Exploring New 

Frontiers of 

Knowledge

Less Ice, 

More Water

Protecting the 

Living Ice

Finding History in 

the Gulf of Mexico

Exploring in the 

Alaskan Frontier

New Depths, New 

Possibilities

Home Sweet Home

Cool New Projects 

for Alaska

International Oil & 

Ice Workshop

Expedition to the 

Deep Slope 2007

MMS Projects High 

Production Number 

in the Gulf of Mexico
 mms OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

July/August/September 2007

Volume 4 Issue 3

mms OCEAN SCIENCE is published 

quarterly by the Minerals Management 

Service to communicate recent ocean 

science and technological information 

and issues of interest related to offshore 

mineral recovery, ocean stewardship, 

and mineral revenues.

Please address all questions, comments, 

suggestions, and changes of address to:

Dr. Deborah Epperson

mms OCEAN SCIENCE Editor

Minerals Management Service

1201 Elmwood Park Boulevard

New Orleans, LA 70123

deborah.epperson@mms.gov

(504) 736-3257

3 Exploring New Frontiers 

of Knowledge

4 Less Ice, More Water

6 Protecting the Living Ice

7 Finding History in the Gulf of Mexico

8 Featured Study

Exploring in the Alaskan Frontier

10 New Depths, New Possibilities

Deepwater Interest Renewed in the GOM

11 Home Sweet Home

Invertebrates Thrive Under Platforms

12 Technology and 

Assessment Research

 Cool New Projects for Alaska

13 International Oil & Ice Workshop

 Cold Region Research

14 Exploring the Deep

Expedition to the Deep Slope 2007

15 MMS Projects High Production 

Number in the Gulf of Mexico

16 New Waves

Late-Breaking News & Information

ABOUT THE COVER

Top Left: Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska. Aerial 

view of freshly snow-covered landscape. Photo 

courtesy of www.nps.gov.

Top Center: Close-up view of one of the undescribed 

species of Lamellibrachia that scientists discovered 

during the Expedition to the Deep Slope 2007. Photo 

courtesy of NOAA/Aquapix.

Top Right: Sea ice ecological group divers 

silhouetted against the sea surface. Photo courtesy 

of NOAA.

Main Photo: An asteroid sea star collected while feeding 

on coral. Photo courtesy of L. Mullineaux, NOAA.

Back Page: Background platform image by 

Gregory S. Boland

All photos courtesy of Minerals Management Service 

unless otherwise noted.

Publication services provided by Schatz Publishing Group

The Science & Technology Journal of the Minerals Management SErvice

For more information about the Minerals Management Service, 

check out our site on the World Wide Web:

www.mms.gov

Subscribe

To receive mms OCEAN SCIENCE, sign up on the website 

www.gomr.mms.gov, click on e-mail subscriptions on the lefthand column, check the box marked Environmental Studies or 

e-mail deborah.epperson@mms.gov or call (504) 736-3257

July/August/September 2007 Volume 4 Issue 3

MMS

SCIENCE
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007

Every day it seems 

that new frontiers 

are opening up to 

the scientists at the 

Minerals Management 

Service (MMS) and their academic 

and industry partners. Whether 

it’s new frontiers in energy 

reserves, animal research, weather 

research, anthropological study or 

technological innovations, MMS is 

at the forefront of environmental and 

energy research today. 

The Alaska frontier has been 

an area of careful study, with recent 

research studies including thinning 

ice, leasing opportunities, drilling 

platform challenges, and many more 

projects in the Outer Continental 

Shelf (OCS). These studies will 

help MMS work to protect the 

environment as the search continues 

for energy resources in the icy waters 

of the Alaska frontier. 

The MMS is also funding 

studies of microscopic biota to 

document possible changes in their 

behavior or habitat due to oil and 

gas development or larger climate 

changes. In the Pacific, studies are 

documenting ecosystems under 

existing oil and gas platforms in 

southern California and collecting 

ecological baseline data along 

California, Oregon, and southern 

Washington in support of future 

alternative energy projects that will 

harness energy from ocean waves 

and currents. As stewards of the 

Nation’s offshore natural resources, 

MMS is concerned with protecting 

the animals and ecosystems that 

inhabit the Alaska and Pacific 

offshore frontier. 

The deepwater frontier of the 

Gulf of Mexico continues to be the 

subject of intense interest to the 

offshore oil and gas industry. New 

discoveries in the Lower Tertiary are 

just beginning to be developed, and 

the area promises to be productive 

for years to come. In these waters, 

natural resources are not the only 

finds; archaeological crews have 

resurrected history by exploring 

shipwreck sites, preserving history 

throughout the development of 

oil and gas production. As new 

frontiers are being explored deeper 

and deeper, MMS is driven to keep 

the OCS environmentally safe for 

future generations. 

Blue-water divers use glass jars to capture gelatinous specimens for further study. Photo 

courtesy of NOAA/Expedition to the Deep Slope.
mms OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

The sea ice cover of 

the Alaskan Arctic 

is a vital habitat for 

the marine mammals 

uniquely adapted 

to its harsh conditions. But in the 

last 20 years, the ice has thinned. 

The percentage of multiyear ice, 

ice that has survived two or more 

summer melt periods, appears to 

have decreased during the summer 

and fall months, and the sea ice is 

covering fewer square miles as it 

retreats northward. The time that the 

sea ice advances seaward in the fall 

and winter, how long it stays stable, 

and the time it begins to break up in 

the spring are of great importance to 

the native communities, the marine 

mammals who hunt and are hunted 

on the ice, and the oil and gas 

companies that explore and develop 

the resources beneath the seafloor. 

Hajo Eicken and others, from the 

University of Alaska, Fairbanks, 

analyzed 10 years of satellite 

imagery interpreting the changes in 

the lead and landfast ice conditions 

for the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas 

(OCS Study MMS 2005-068). 

Landfast ice is defined as sea ice 

that is attached to the shoreline and 

lacks motion detectable by satellite 

imagery. This differentiates it from 

pack ice, which is found seaward 

of the landfast ice and consists 

of mobile ice. Scientists analyzed 

satellite imagery gathered between 

1993 and 2004 and archived 

the images in the Geographical 

Information Network of Alaska 

(GINA) at the University of Alaska, 

Fairbanks. The landfast ice is much 

more extensive and typically more 

stable in the Beaufort Sea because 

of the much larger shallow shelf 

area that extends out to almost 

70 kilometers (43 miles). On the 

Chukchi side, the shallow shelf 

is more narrow, and the much 

narrower extent of landfast ice is 

less stable.

Lead systems are temporary 

stretches of open water in arctic 

ice. Lead systems can be found 

throughout the winter months as 

ice continually shifts due to ocean 

currents and winds. One way in 

which lead systems develop is when 

the mobile pack ice separates from 

the stable landfast ice causing a 

flaw lead system. This condition 

is typically found off the Chukchi 

coast as northeast winds. In addition, 

numerous major lead systems also 

occur within the mobile pack ice. 

New insight was discovered on lead 

dynamics as the scientists determined 

that similar lead patterns in specific 

areas could be found from year to 

year. The flaw lead system in the 

Chukchi and the Beaufort Seas is a 

very important transit route for the 

migration of whales and birds during 

the spring months of April and May. 

Figure 1 (on the opposite page) shows 

the flaw lead system in the Beaufort 

and Chukchi Seas.

Major lead and landfast ice 

patterns are repeated from year 

to year. The lead patterns appear 

to display a consistent seasonal 

variability in their spatial patterns. 

These patterns are controlled by 

Less Ice,

More Water

System of leads and adjacent deformed ice. Floes and brash ice in a newly formed lead. 
seafloor topography, atmospheric 

forcing, and large-scale ice dynamics.

Based on their analysis, 

scientists noted the fraction, size, 

and number density of lead systems 

varied seasonally with the highest 

degree of fraction in late spring (10 

percent). A prevailing easterly wind 

in the eastern Chukchi Sea and the 

Mackenzie Delta, which forced the 

ice offshore, resulted in the highest 

lead fractions and the largest sizes 

studied. There were fewer and 

smaller leads in the Beaufort Sea. 

Other important findings 

confirm that the cycle of landfast 

ice has been shorter in the last five 

years – it breaks up earlier and 

forms later. Data on the historical 

air temperatures also confirm this 

trend toward early thawing in the 

spring and later freezing in the fall. 

An important component of landfast 

ice formation is the entrance of 

pack ice into the coastal waters. As 

the permanent pack ice edge has 

retreated northward, the landfast 

ice has also experienced changes. 

Current and atmospheric circulation 

patterns also affect the time and 

location of lead ice formations. 

Predicting the duration that 

landfast ice will remain stable 

and the factors and patterns that 

will result in lead ice formations 

are of vital economic interest to 

native communities and offshore 

development concerns. The studies 

that MMS is conducting in the 

region as steward of its ocean 

environment may lead to a reliable 

predictor of the spatial and temporal 

state of the ice resources in the 

Alaskan offshore frontier.

Figure 1: April 26, 1995, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) 

Satellite Image of the Flaw Lead System in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, Alaska.

For more information:

Landfast Ice Study

Website: www.mms.gov/Alaska/

reports/2005rpts/

2005_068.pdf

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007

Figure 2: December 15, 1995, Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer 

(AVHRR) Infrared Satellite Imagery displaying pack ice leads in the Chukchi 

Sea, Alaska.
mms OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

When most of 

us think of the 

Arctic, we envision thousands 

of miles of 

barren, pristine sea ice. But that 

ice isn’t barren, nor is it always 

pristine. Living in and below that 

ice are hundreds of tiny life forms. 

These small varieties of bacteria, 

algae, protozoa, and metazoa are a 

vital part of the Arctic food chain. 

The Minerals Management Service 

(MMS) funded studies of effects of 

sediment deposited in the ice from 

natural causes in order to determine 

how human activities could adversely affect that chain. 

Sea ice is a complex 

combination of ice crystals and 

channels of salty brine. Clean 

ice allows light to nourish the 

biota within its structure, and 

the community thrives in this 

environment. The introduction of 

sediment into the ice from either 

natural causes or from future human 

activity, such as construction of ice 

roads, oil and gas spills, and other 

human activity, could greatly reduce 

the clarity of the ice. The light the 

biota needs for growth is greatly 

diminished. Consequently, the 

biota’s diminished growth results in 

declining food supplies for animals 

higher up the food chain.

Another byproduct of human 

activity – global warming – may 

also be affecting the sea ice 

biota. Scientists 

estimate that 

the total thickness and volume 

of sea ice in 

the Arctic has 

Protecting the Living Ice

decreased 2.5 percent each decade of 

the last 30 years. With less ice to support the population, it is estimated 

that the amount of biota available as 

food will decrease. 

The MMS is continuing to 

support research as scientists seek 

to understand more about the 

effects that oil and gas exploration 

and development may have on the 

fragile web of Arctic food supplies.

For more information:

Sea Ice Disturbances 

Report

Website: www.mms.gov/Alaska/

 reports/2005rpts/

 2005_062.pdf 

Thinning Ice

Website: www.arctic.noaa.gov/

 essay_untersteiner.html

Above: Single-celled (unicellular) algae, 

which develop in the lowermost sections 

of sea ice, often forming chains and 

filaments. Ice algae are an important 

component of the Arctic marine food web. 

Photo courtesy of NOAA.

Graphic courtesy of NOAA.

Sea ice is a complex combination of ice crystals 

and channels of salty brine. Clean ice allows light 

to nourish the biota within its structure, and the 

community thrives in this environment.

Magnification into brine channels
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007

On May 21, 2007, 

a crew of archaeologists from 

the Minerals 

Management 

Service (MMS) and Texas A&M 

University arrived at Port Fourchon, 

Louisiana, to begin field research on 

the “Mardi Gras Shipwreck Project.” 

As they boarded the Toisa Vigilant, 

the research vessel they would occupy for the next two and a half weeks, 

they eagerly prepared to resurrect 

an important piece of history in the 

Gulf of Mexico. 

Approximately 200 years ago, 

a small ship sank to the ocean 

floor about 40 miles off the coast 

of Louisiana. Although the exact 

identity of the sunken ship has not 

been discovered, there are many 

speculations as to its origin, with 

variations from merchant to privateer 

ships. According to MMS Acting 

Regional Director Lars Herbst, “This 

ship likely sailed around the time of 

the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 

1812, and the infamous buccaneer 

Jean Lafitte. Its recovery will tell a 

story about what life at sea was like 

at that time that cannot be found in 

history books.” 

Without a known identity, 

archaeologists have labeled the 

ship “Mardi Gras Shipwreck.” The 

name is based on its discovery in 

2002 by oilfield inspection crews 

surveying the pipeline of the Mardi 

Gras Gas Transmission System. The 

excavation of the ship reached world 

record depths for non-commercial 

scientific excavations. At 4,000 feet 

beneath the surface, the pressure 

of the sea water only allowed for 

remotely operated vehicles and 

created an exciting study for the 

crew. Among the discovered artifacts 

was a chest of small arms, five sand 

clocks (hourglasses), two types 

of ceramics, the remains of two 

compasses, a telescope, and most 

intriguingly, one of only four castiron ship stoves known in existence. 

But why is MMS involved? As 

a Federal agency, MMS is bound by 

the National Historic Preservation 

Act (NHPA) of 1966 to protect 

archaeological sites on the Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS). To do 

so, MMS requires remote sensing 

surveys as part of its permitting 

process in order to identify potential 

archaeological resources such as 

historic shipwrecks or submerged 

prehistoric sites. 

On June 7, 2007, the 

archaeology team made their last 

entry in their daily log as they 

headed back to port. With the field 

work complete, the long process 

to detail and conserve the artifacts 

will begin. After conservation of 

the artifacts is complete, all finds 

from the excavation will be sent 

to the Louisiana Department of 

Culture, Recreation, and Tourism to 

be displayed at the Louisiana State 

Museum. Through the collaboration 

of MMS and Texas A&M University, 

marine archaeologists are helping to 

understand a 200-year-old historical 

treasure in the Gulf of Mexico.

For more information:

Mardi Gras Shipwreck

Website: www.flpublicarchaeology.org/mardigras/ 

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whatsnew/newsreal/2007/070522a.pdf

An artifact collected from the shipwreck. 

Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University.

Without a known identity, archaeologists have 

labeled the ship “Mardi Gras Shipwreck.”

Finding History in the

Gulf of Mexico

Finding History in the

Gulf of Mexico

The crew of the Toisa Vigilant.
 mms OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

Featured Study

Alaska is known for its 

unsurpassed natural 

beauty and for its 

abundance of natural 

resources. Those 

resources include oil and gas supplies 

that have yet to be discovered 

and developed. Overseeing the 

responsible economic development 

of these resources is a mission of 

the Minerals Management Service 

(MMS). As part of its 2007-2012 5-

Year Program for energy exploration 

and development, MMS is opening 

areas with promising geological 

potential. The question for both 

MMS and oil companies is whether 

the petroleum resources will be large 

enough to justify the tremendous 

expense of infrastructure in these 

remote frontier areas. Potential lease 

areas include the Beaufort Sea, 

Chukchi Sea, North Aleutian Basin, 

and Cook Inlet. 

The Beaufort Sea has about 269 

active leases, a wealth of available 

seismic data surveys, and 36 wells, 

according to the 2006 Oil and Gas 

Assessment. The data indicate that 

some of the geologic characteristics 

offshore are an extension of the 

economically-proven North Slope 

fields. Infrastructure around 

Prudhoe Bay is available so new 

developments would not have to 

construct costly new facilities and an 

oil transportation system. 

The Chukchi Sea planning 

area is located in a remote area off 

Alaska’s northwest coast and extends 

from about 25 to 275 miles offshore. 

The proposed sale area excludes 

nearshore waters within 25 miles 

of the coast that encompasses the 

open water corridor (“polynya”) 

through which whales, other marine 

mammals, and birds migrate north 

in the spring. This polynya corridor 

is heavily used by local communities 

for their subsistence hunting. 

Between 1988 and 1991, a 

total of 483 leases were issued 

in four sales in the Chukchi Sea. 

Five exploration wells were drilled 

by industry without making a 

commercial discovery. By 1996, 

all the leases were relinquished to 

the Federal Government and there 

has been little exploration activity 

in the past decade. High oil prices 

and excellent geology have recently 

prompted a renewed industry interest 

in the Chukchi Sea. Evidence of 

oil and gas were noted in each 

of the Chukchi wells in reservoir 

formations correlative to fields 

on the North Slope. The MMS's 

estimates of undiscovered petroleum 

resources in the Chukchi Sea include 

15 billion barrels of oil and 77 

trillion cubic feet of gas. However, 

huge expenditures would be required 

for development and transportation 

infrastructure, so only a portion of 

this petroleum endowment would be 

commercially viable at current high 

oil prices. 

One sale in the North Aleutian 

Basin is tentatively scheduled for 

2011. Before authorizing the lease 

sale, MMS will conduct studies on 

the North Pacific right whale and 

other issues of concern. The MMS 

will then prepare an environmental 

impact statement for the proposed 

sale and will coordinate closely 

with the State of Alaska and local 

governments. The area considered 

for new leasing would be limited 

to the area previously offered in 

Background photo: MODIS Terra image of the Beaufort Sea. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Alaskan

Frontier

Exploring in the
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007 

For more information:

Resource Assessment Reports and Lease Maps

Website: www.mms.gov/alaska/re/reports/rereport.htm

Website: www.mms.gov/alaska/re/reports/2006Asmt/index.htm

Website: www.mms.gov/alaska/Maps/current_leases_oct_2005.pdf

Website: www.mms.gov/alaska/lease/hlease/aleasemapci.htm

Lease Sale 92 in 1988. The North 

Aleutian Basin could potentially 

hold large natural gas pools, and 

only one stratigraphic test well has 

been drilled in this area. The MMS 

estimates that the area could hold 

recoverable resources of 750 million 

barrels of oil and 8.6 trillion cubic 

feet of gas.

The Cook Inlet lies near the 

population centers in south central 

Alaska and has experienced oil and 

gas operations for 50 years. The first 

discovery on the Kenai Peninsula 

in what is now the Swanson River 

oil field in 1957 was an important 

reason that statehood was granted 

in 1959. Since then, oil and gas 

developments in the Upper Cook 

Inlet and adjacent onshore areas 

have produced 1.3 billion barrels of 

oil and 7.1 trillion cubic feet of gas. 

In addition to supporting heat and 

power for the local population, oil is 

refined for transportation fuels at the 

Tesoro refinery, and gas is converted 

to liquid natural gas and fertilizer 

products for export. 

Federal tracts in the Lower 

Cook Inlet were leased in three 

OCS sales between 1977 and 

1982; a total of 13 test wells were 

drilled without resulting in any 

commercial discoveries. The last 

Cook Inlet OCS sale was held in 

1997 and two leases were issued on 

an older discovery now called the 

Cosmopolitan Unit with adjacent 

State tracts. The MMS estimates 

that 1 billion barrels of oil and 1.2 

trillion cubic feet of gas could be 

present in the Lower Cook Inlet 

OCS area. 

Exploration and production in 

the frontiers of Alaska are not for the 

faint of heart. There are numerous 

challenges associated with seasonal 

conditions such as sea ice and 

Exploration and production 

in the frontiers of Alaska 

is not for the faint of 

heart. There are numerous 

challenges associated 

with seasonal conditions 

such as sea ice and 

animal migrations, remote 

locations, and the needs of 

indigenous communities. 

animal migrations, remote locations, 

and the needs of indigenous 

communities. Oil and gas companies 

must overcome the challenges 

to operations and the enormous 

economic costs. The MMS, in its role 

as steward of the ocean environment, 

will ensure that the companies have 

an opportunity to conduct successful 

operations while the environment 

is protected, thus allowing animals 

and the Native cultural heritage to 

thrive even as we strive to meet our 

Nation’s energy needs.

Beaufort Sea existing leases.
10 mms OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

Deepwater Interest 

Renewed in the GOM

The Gulf of Mexico 

Energy Security Act of 

2006 has opened new 

lease areas in Central 

and Eastern planning 

areas as interest in the deepwater 

Gulf intensifies. New frontiers in the 

Gulf of Mexico (GOM) are being 

explored with renewed vigor as 

unexplored areas are being opened 

up and old boundaries are being 

altered. At the end of 2006, over 

120 projects in deepwater areas 

were producing. Over half of the 

approximately 7,855 active leases in 

the GOM are in deep water. 

This activity comes in spite of 

the enormous challenges required 

to explore and develop in deep 

water. The results of current wells 

drilled in the Lower Tertiary have 

been extremely encouraging. British 

Petroleum’s (BP) Kaskida prospect 

and Chevron’s Jack and Jack #2 have 

helped drive the industry’s interest 

in the area. The Lower Tertiary is 

thought to cover over 30,000 square 

miles. It lies around 25,000 feet deep 

under a thick canopy of salt. 

Developers like BP and Chevron 

are being challenged in recovery 

efforts because of the depth of 

drilling (over 25,000 feet), the 

depth of the water (4,000 to 7,500 

feet), and the possibility of high 

temperature and high pressure 

conditions. Special equipment 

is required to drill at this depth, 

resulting in high well costs and 

possible delays as adequate 

equipment is found. In addition, 

the infrastructure needed to deliver 

the deepwater production to market 

is only in the planning stages and 

will require hundreds of millions 

of dollars in capital expenditures 

to develop. But the rewards can far 

outweigh the expense. The Lower 

Tertiary has the potential for high 

flow rates and large field sizes, giving 

oil and gas developers the promise of 

long-term revenue.

As the interest in deep water 

intensifies and new projects 

are developed, the Minerals 

Management Service is predicting 

that oil production in the GOM 

may reach 2.1 million barrels per 

day within 10 years. As exploration 

methods, drilling equipment, and 

recovery techniques continue to 

improve, that goal may well be 

within reach.

For more information:

Expansion Into 

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

 homepg/whatsnew/

 newsreal/2007/070501.pdf

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/

 pdfs/2007/2007-021.pdf

The Cajun Express rig used for the Jack #2 well production test. Photo courtesy of Chevron.

New Depths, New Possibilities

Deepwater: 1,000 

to 5,000 feet.
11

The Minerals 

Management Service 

(MMS), as steward 

of the ecosystems 

and resources on the 

Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), is 

keenly interested in ascertaining 

the importance of the platforms to 

the ecosystems of the Pacific coast. 

A recently completed study of the 

invertebrate communities associated 

with the platforms is a step toward 

understanding that importance. 

Scientists conducting the study 

analyzed video and transparent 

slides collected by remotely operated 

vehicles and divers to identify the 

abundance, density, and distribution 

of invertebrates below the platforms. 

They identified three general zones: 

Upper Zone ranges from the 

tidal zone to depths of 60-85 

feet, which includes mussels, 

anemones, and red and green 

algae; 

Mid Zone from 60-85 feet to 

depths of 250 feet includes 

mussels and barnacles; and 

Lower Zone below 250 feet, 

which includes worm tubes, 

among other species. 

Scientists identified 173 

different species from the analysis 

of the slides. One hundred and 

thirty species typically not seen in 

photographs were identified from 

scrapings taken from the mussel 

and barnacle zones of a platform 

harvest. The greatest density of 

species was noted in the Upper Zone, 

but Mid and Lower Zones also held 

considerable variety. 

This study confirms the 

presence of a thriving invertebrate 

1.

2.

3.

community among the platforms of 

the Pacific. This and other studies 

recently completed are providing a 

basis for MMS, as a steward of the 

ocean environment, to make more 

informed decisions about the fate 

of the aging platforms slated for 

decommissioning. 

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007

For more information:

Southern Calfornia 

OCS Study

Website: www.mms.gov/omm/

 pacific/enviro/MMS-

 2005-070.pdf

1.) Mytilus californianus, 2.) filamentous red algae, 3.) an encrusting alga (Lithothamnion), 4.) 

Anthopleura xanthogrammica, and 5.) A. elegantissima at -8 m (-25 ft), Diablo Rock.

Home sweet home

Invertebrates thrive 

Under Platforms

Sea urchin. Photo courtesy of NOAA
12 mms OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

I

n the 1970s, the Technology 

& Assessment Research 

Program (TAR) was 

established as a part of 

the Minerals Management 

Service (MMS) to ensure that 

industry operations on the Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) use the Best 

Available and Safest Technologies 

(BAST). Through contracts with 

universities, private firms, and 

government laboratories, TAR works 

to gather research for offshore safety 

and engineering, oil spills, and 

various other assessment projects. 

Currently, TAR has approximately 

600 projects sponsored by MMS, 

with several new research projects for 

the Alaska frontier areas. Here are 

some of the recent projects for 2007:

Design Options for Offshore 

Pipelines in the U.S. Beaufort 

and Chukchi Seas

The objective of this study 

is to provide design options 

for pipelines with regard 

to Arctic hazards such as 

strudel scour, upheaval 

buckling, and ice gouging in 

the Beaufort and Chukchi 



Technology and assessment Research

Seas. Design issues include 

construction, operations, 

integrity management, 

maintenance, and 

intervention. 

Arctic Offshore Technology 

Assessment of Exploration 

and Production Options for 

Cold Regions of the U.S. 

Outer Continental Shelf

The study objective is 

to conduct a technology 

assessment for U.S. OCS oil 

and gas operations in cold 

regions to determine what 

may be technically feasible 

in ice-covered and openwater conditions.

Sea Spray Icing of Drilling 

and Production Platforms

The objective of this 

research project is to develop 

methods for quantifying 

the occurrence and severity 

of sea spray icing on oil 

exploration and drill rigs in 

the Chukchi and Beaufort 

Seas. The goal is to provide 

algorithms for processing 





Cool New

Projects 

for Alaska

weather data to determine 

sea spray icing severity on 

offshore structures.

Assessment of Superstructure 

Ice Protection as Applied to 

Offshore Oil Operations Safety

This research project assesses 

potential methods for 

improving safety on drilling 

and production vessels and 

platforms operating in the 

Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, 

including those experiencing 

superstructure icing.

Seabed Scour and BuriedPipeline Deformation Due to 

Ice Ridges

The objective of this study is 

to study factors affecting soil 

and pipeline deformation 

below scouring ice ridges in 

the Arctic environment.





For more information:

TAR Projects

Website: www.mms.gov/

 tarprojects
13

For more information:

Oil & Ice Workshop

Website: www.slross.com/OII2007/

OII2007main.htm

Website: www.mms.gov/tarprojects/

587.htm

Website: www.arctic.gov/files/

OilInIceReport.pdf

International Oil & Ice Workshop

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007

With the expansion 

of oil transport, 

exploration, and 

production in 

cold regions, the 

International Oil & Ice Workshop in 

Anchorage, Alaska, October 10-11, 

2007, will emphasize recent advances 

in working in Arctic climates. The 

goal of the workshop is to share 

international progress in Arctic 

oil-spill research, operations, and 

program development, including 

presentations by experts from the 

U.S., Canada, Finland, Germany, 

and Norway. 

As a designated steward 

of the ocean environment, the 

Minerals Management Service 

(MMS) initiated the Oil & 

Ice Workshop to help provide 

environmental protection through 

new technology. Of the 21 

presentations on the agenda, six 

are from MMS-funded oil-spill 

response research, including:

Developments with Ground 

Penetrating Radar to Detect and 

Map Oil Trapped under Ice

Behavior and Weathering of Oil 

Spills under Arctic Conditions 

and Implications for Response

Oleophilic Skimmer Advances

Using Herding Surfactants to 

Thicken Oil Slicks in Pack Ice 

for In-Situ Burning

Dispersants in Cold Water

In-Situ Burning in Ice

As interest in the Arctic grows, 

protecting the area extends beyond 

that of oil transportation and 

production issues to also include 

topics concerning shipping risks, 

regulatory issues, and experiments 

in and under ice. The MMS 

has partnered with many other 

organizations for this effort to share 

international research resources, 

including sponsorship from Alaska 

Clean Seas, Alaska Department 

of Environmental Conservation, 

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Cook Inlet Spill 

Prevention and 

Response, Prince 

William Sound 

Oil Spill Recovery 

Institute, and 

the U.S. Coast 

Guard. Through 

partnerships with 

these agencies, the 

workshop creates 

an international 

forum to share current data as well 

as to direct further studies through 

collaboration of common interests. 

According to the Advancing Oil 

Spill Response in Ice-Covered Waters 

report, more than 60 ideas and 

research concepts for the advancement of oil-spill response were 

generated from the last Oil & Ice 

Workshop, held in April 2000. This 

upcoming workshop will help guide 

future research and development 

programs towards areas of interest to 

international stakeholders. 

Tests to determine the limits of in-situ burning of thin oil slicks in brash and frazil ice. Photo 

courtesy of D. Dickens.

Cold Region

Research

A response vessel recovers oil from ice 

during an actual spill in the Baltic Sea. Photo 

courtesy of Finnish Environment Institute.
14 mms OCEAN SCIENCE Science & Technology Journal

Exploring the Deep

I

n 2006, a team of scientists 

funded by the Minerals 

Management Service (MMS) 

and the NOAA Office of 

Ocean Exploration (OE) 

embarked on a mission in the Gulf 

of Mexico (GOM) that would reach 

new depths in the exploration of the 

hydrocarbon seep communities. At 

depths of over 3,281 feet (1,000 

meters), these scientists visited 10 

sites to learn about deep GOM 

cold seeps and coral communities. 

In June 2007, the latest crew 

set out for the “Expedition to 

the Deep Slope 2007” to collect 

further essential information on the 

ecology and biodiversity of deepsea communities. 

This year’s mission had two 

main objectives. The first was 

to revisit about half of the sites 

discovered last year to complete 

characterization of the sites 

and collect time series data for 

information on how fast seep 

animals grow and how the deep 

communities change over time. 

The second objective was to 

explore three to five new areas and 

Gulf of Mexico

Deepwater Facts

The Gulf of Mexico Outer 

Continental Shelf (OCS) 

provides about 14 percent of 

our domestic natural gas and 

25 percent of our domestic oil.

50 percent of leased acreage 

in the Gulf of Mexico OCS 

is in deep water (greater than 

1,000 feet). 

3.9 seconds of OCS 

production would allow a car 

to travel around Earth at its 

equator (25,000 miles). 

The world's first exploratory 

well in over 10,000 feet of 

water has been drilled in the 

Gulf of Mexico. 

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characterize any new sites and 

communities discovered. 

Why were these locations 

chosen? The deepwater sites that 

were studied are in areas where 

energy companies could soon begin 

to drill for oil and gas. Through 

exploration, scientists can 

provide important information 

on the ecology and biodiversity 

of the deep-sea communities 

to regulatory agencies as the 

search for oil moves farther into 

deepwater. Identifying the location 

Bosun Group Leader Dave Owen gazes back at the NOAA ship, the Ron Brown, while piloting 

the ship’s RHIB. Image courtesy of NOAA/Expedition to the Deep Slope 2007.

Expedition

to the Deep Slope
15

New discoveries in deepwater zones have 

lead the Minerals Management Service 

(MMS) to project high production of oil 

and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) 

in the next 10 years. The MMS estimates that oil 

production in the GOM may reach 2.1 million barrels 

of oil per day. After several years of declining interest 

and production, gas supplies are expected to reach over 

8 billion cubic feet of gas per day. 

Sixteen new deepwater projects are expected 

to be producing by the end of 2007, accounting 

for a large portion of the new production forecast. 

Anticipation about new exploration and possible 

resources in the deepwater Lower Tertiary has also 

contributed to the forecast. 

The Independence Hub facility began producing 

natural gas in July 2007. The hub is a consortium of 

five independent exploration and production companies 

MMS Projects High Production Number in GOM

and one energy company. The group is developing 

multiple ultra-deepwater discoveries in the GOM. The 

facility will allow increased gas production and is the 

primary reason for an increased gas supply forecast. 

As new discoveries are made in the deep and ultradeepwater zones, the GOM will continue to be the 

largest area of production of oil and gas supplies in the 

United States. 

For more information:

Gulf of Mexico Oil Production

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/whatsnew/

 newsreal/2007/070501a.pdf

Independence Hub

Website: www.gomr.mms.gov/homepg/offshore/egom/

 independence_hub.html

and distribution of these sensitive 

areas is vital so oil exploration can 

continue without disturbance of 

these deep-sea communities.

Some of the organisms studied 

are important to the protection of 

the habitat for whole communities 

of animals. For example, tubeworms 

and mussels create habitat for many 

animals found only at seep sites. 

Deepwater corals also support large 

associated communities and may 

be rare in the deep GOM, thus 

warranting special protection of 

these habitats. 

To complete the expedition, 

the team of scientists who have led 

the study of the GOM cold seeps 

for the last 20 years, alongside 

international seep scientists from 

Germany, France, and Austria, 

will supply MMS with results that 

will be utilized to create or modify 

existing regulatory policies through 

an adaptive management approach. 

And with almost 20 million barrels 

of oil being used in America 

per day to fuel automobiles and 

This stunning octopod, Benthoctopus sp., seemed quite interested in ALVIN's port manipulator 

arm. Those inside the sub were surprised by the octopod's inquisitive behavior. Image 

courtesy of NOAA/Bruce Strickrott, Expedition to the Deep Slope 2007.

airplanes, power factories, and 

generate electricity to heat and 

cool homes, the research provided 

by the “Expedition to the Deep 

Slope” is critical to both industry 

stakeholders and to MMS in its role 

to protect the environment while 

managing the Nation’s energy and 

minerals resources on the Outer 

Continental Shelf.

MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE JULY/AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2007
MMS

A steward of the 

ocean environment

Independence Hub

Independence Hub Begins Natural Gas Production

N

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I

n July 2007, the first of 15 subsea wells began 

flowing from the new Independence Hub 

facility in the Gulf of Mexico. According to 

Chris Oynes, Associate Director of Offshore 

Minerals Management, the project is a 

“major accomplishment for the offshore program...

this represents a major milestone.” 

Located about 123 miles southeast of Biloxi, 

Mississippi, in Mississippi Canyon Block 920, the 

Independence Hub will produce gas at a water 

depth of approximately 8,000 feet. The hub, 

operated by the Anadarko Petroleum Company, has 

demonstrated a very speedy first production, and 10 

separate fields are being gathered to produce at this 

facility, creating an ability to accommodate future 

discoveries in this deepwater area. 

With favorable seafloor conditions and 

proximity to nine anchor gas fields, the production 

capacity of the Independence Hub is expected to 

attain 1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. At 

capacity, this will amount to about 12 percent of the 

Gulf of Mexico offshore gas production.

Thunder Horse

Independence Hub

Atlantis

Houston

New Orleans

Lake Charles

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