Please write to the contact listed at the bottom of the page. A good starting place to discuss deepwater operations is the Deep Star program, a joint industry effort involving eighteen companies begun in 1992 and now in its third phase. Through five committees, this program focuses on enabling development in the 3000 to 6000 ft range. Original emphasis upon seafloor systems tied back to shallower hosts has evolved to a larger number of options. Deep development can be contrasted with shallow in four areas, drilling, production, processing and transportation.
Shallow development employs fixed platforms with drilling and control usually on the platform.
In deeper water, these activities will migrate towards the bottom. The safety concerns are the same for shallow and deep. Deep and shallow are actually quite similar with the former being a natural evolution of proven technologies from the latter. In production, workover, and abandonment, a major concern is keeping flow lines open. Subsea operations will see a shift in the location of hardware.