ARCHIVESHISTORIQUES
DELACOMMISSION
COLLECTION RELIEEDES
DOCUMENTS "COM"
COM(82)374
Vol.1982/0130

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COMMISSION OFTHEEUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
COM(82)374 final
Brussels -22June 1982
i
REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TOPARLIAMENT
AND THE COUNCIL
ontheapplication ofRegulation (EEC)No3056 /73onthesupport of
Community projects inthehydrocarbons sector
(Application ofArticle 10oftheabove Regulation )
C0M(82 )374 final

CONTENTS
Page
I.INTRODUCTION 1
II.IMPLEMENTATION OFPROGRAMME 1
III.PRELIMINARY RESULTS 4
IV.DISSEMINATION OFINFORMATION • 5
V.FINANCIAL SITUATION ' 6
VI.CONCLUSIONS 9
VII.ANNEXI-TABLE1 10
TABLE2 11
TABLE3 13
TABLE4 14
VIII.ANNEXII-TECHNICAL RESULTS OFTHEPROJECTS 15

I.INTRODUCTION
1.On9November1973theCounciloftheEuropeanCommunities adopted
Regulation (EEC)No.3056/73onthesupportofCommunityprojectsin
1)thehydrocarbons sector
2.ThesubsidiesgrantedundertheRegulation,repayableiftheresults
oftheprojectareexploitedcommercially,areintendedtopromote
suchactivitiesofprospecting for,producing,storing,ortransport­
inghydrocarbons asarelikelytoimprovethesecurityoftheCommunity's
energysupplies.
3.PursuanttoArticle10ofRegulation 3056/73,whichprovidesthat
"theCommissionshallsubmitanannualreportontheapplication of
thisRegulation totheEuropeanParliament andtheCouncil,whichshall
expressitsopiniononthereport",thefirstreportcoveringtheimple­
mentationofthefirstseriesofprojectsgrantedfinancialsupport,
2)
waspublishedinDecember1976.AsymposiuminLuxembourg inApril
1979highlighted thefirstresultsattained.Thedetailedrecordof
thesymposium waspublishedintwovolumes „Afurtherreportappeared
4)inMay1980andthepresentreportanalysestheprogress madein
implementing thissupportprogramme upto31December1981.
II.IMPLEMENTATION OFPROGRAMME
4.Since1973,410Projectspromotedby240Communitybusinesses have
beensubmitted inreplytotheCommission'sinvitationtoapplyfor
financialsupport.
1)0JL312of13November 1973
2)C0MC76)709Final
3)Doc.EUR6299
4)C0MC80)260Final
./2

-2-
Following aCommission proposal,theCouncilgranted atotalof
240million ECUinfinancial supporttocoverthecompletion of
1242oftheseprojects .OnaveragetheCommunity provided 35A
ofthefinanceforeachproject.
5.TheRegulation providedthatanyfinancial supportgrantedcould
taketheformofLoans,loanguarantees ,orsubsidies repayable
undercertainconditions .Infact,theformulaappliedtoall
thecontracts wasthatofasubsidyrepayable intheeventofthe
resultsoftheprojectbeingcommercially exploited .
6.Inaccordance withArt.5.2oftheRegulation ,themaincriteria used
bytheCommission inselecting projects tosubmittotheCouncilwere
asfollows :
i)Thecontribution theproject wouldmaketowardsincreasing
theCommunity'sresources inhydrocarbons ;
ii)theamountofinnovative technology tobeusedascompared
withthestateoftheart;
iii)thenatureandextentoftherisksinvolved andtheproject's
estimated profitability ;
iv)thetechnical capacities andfinancial situation ofthoseres­
ponsible fortheproject.
1)-CouncilDecision of19December 1974onthesupportofCommunity projects
inthehydrocarbons sector(Doc.R/3600/74);
-CouncilDecision of4May1976onthesupportofCommunity projects in
thehydrocarbons sector (Doc.R/854/76);
-CouncilDecision of25October 1977onthesupportofCommunity projects
inthehydrocarbons sector (Doc.R/2416/77);
-CouncilDecision of30October 1978onthesupportofCommunity projects
inthehydrocarbons sector(Doc.R/2671/78);
-CouncilDecision of29October 1979onthegranting ofsupportfor
Community projects inthehydrocarbons sector(0JL281of10Nov.1979);
-CouncilDecisionof27October1980onthegranting ofsupportfor
Community projects inthehydrocarbons sector(Doc.10142/80ENER111);
-CouncilDecision of27October 1981onthegranting ofsupportfor
Community projects inthehydrocarbons sector(Doc.10024/81ENER114).
... .

TheCommission firstascertained thattheprojects wouldnothave
beenundertaken orwouldhavebeensubjecttolongdelayshadthey
notreceivedfinancial assistance fromtheCommunity .
Toavoidduplication byothertechniques concurrently beingdeveloped,
theCommission persuaded companies tocooperate and,wherenecessary,
toformassociations tocarryoutcertainprojects .
Finally,greateroperating safetyandthestateinwhichinstallations
hadbeenmaintained werealsotakenintoaccount .
Theamountofsupportgranted,whichundertheRegulation wasnotto
exceed50%oftotalinvestments ,wasfixedonthebasisoftherisks
incurred ineachprojectandtheexpected results asregardssecuring
supplies.
Projects likelytoincrease supplies substantial lyortospeedupthe
exploitation oftheCommunity'sresources received maximumsupport
(40%'.Transport andstorageprojects andprojects forthedevelopmen
ofservices (whichareimportant becausetheyoftenhelptoeliminate
obstacles toproduction ^weregivenslightly lowerratesofsupport
(25-35%).Inallcasestheaimwastoachieve amultiplier effect
inordertolimittheCommunity 'sfinancial contribution tothe
minimum .
Support wasgiventoallaspectsofadvancedoiltechnology from
geophysical prospecting todrilling techniques andfromproduction
indeepwaterordifficult environments (particularlyarcticzones)
topipelinetransportation andunderwater storagetanks.
Inthelastfewyearsparticular attention hasbeenpaidtoenhanced
recoveryorheavyoilproduction techniques aimedatrapidlybringing
intoproduction resources inknowndeposits whichhaveremained
unexploited sofarbecausetherearenoappropriate techniques .

-4-
9.AscanbeseenfromAnnexI,Table 1,about70%ofthesupport made
available hasgonetoproduction techniques and17%totransport ;
theremainder hasbeendividedbetweenprpspecting ,exploration and
storage.Enhanced recovery andthetreatment ofheavyoils,the
lattersectorwhichreceivedlittlesupporttostartwith,hasnow
beengranted 44%oftheappropriations available forthelatest
seriesofprojects (1981).
10.Mostofthecompanies receiving financial supportareintheoil-
relatedsector,i.e.engineering companies andmanufacturers of
specialequipment .Thelatterhavebeenresponsible forthedesign
andconstruction ofoilinstallations ,whilsttrialsunderactualpr
production conditions werecarriedoutbytheoilcompanies ;the
latteralonecandecideonthecriteria tobesatisfied bythe
engineers *technological developments andtheyowntheoilfields on
whichtheequipment couldbeperfected .Theirshareofthesupport
granted bytheCommunity cametoabout30%ofthetotal.
III.PRELIMINARY RESULTS
11.Aprojectnormally takesthreetofouryearstocomplete andtwomore
t
yearsarerequired beforeanewtechnique canbeexploited commercially .
Sofar,therefore,anyassessment oftheresultswillbeonlypartial
andwillcoveronlysomeprojects launched duringthefirstfour
years(1974-1978 ).
Theresultsalready seemtobeverysubstantial .Adetailedanalysis
isgiveninAnnexII.Amongthemostsignificant achievements the
following areworthmentioning :
a)thesub-seapipeline layingtrialsintheStraitsofMessinaand
theSicilian Channelhaveresulted inacompleted sub-seapipeline
linkingAlgeriaandItaly.Thepipeline cameintoserviceatthe
endof1981;
b)theinstallation ofdrilling equipment onboardthedynamically
positioned drillships"Petrel","BenOceanLancer"and"P&Lerin"
...15

-5-
whicharecapableofdrilling atseaatgreatdepths (upto
1,000 m);exploration programmes usingthesevesselsbegan
in1978;
c)inthefieldofdeep-sea _production,theuseofarticulated
columns,floating platforms ,risersandunderwater storage
containers ,theresultsobtained sofaralsoshowthatan
underwater production systemoperated entirely byremote
controlisviable;
d)thecompletion ofpilotprojects involving theenhanced recovery
ofhydrocarbons ;thedataobtained shouldmeanthatinthe
nearfutureitwillbepossible toperfectindustrial sale
techniques forenhanced recovery,thereby improving therate
ofrecovery fromcurrently exploited fields.
IV.DISSEMINATION OFINFORMATION
12.Theinformation obtained bycarrying outCommunity projects belongs
tothecompanydirecting theproject.Nevertheless ,thatcompany
isexpected touseasignificant partoftheinformation obtained
totheadvantage oftheCommunity,ortohaveitsousedbyothers.
Inparticular ,,thecompanyundertakes togivepriority toobtain­
ingforindividuals ofCommunity origin,andforCommunity companies,
theequipment andservices basedontheseresults,andtodosoon
non-discriminatory termsandconditions .Thecompanyalso.undei–
takestouseallappropriate methodstoinformtheabovepersons
andcompanies oftheavailability oftheresults.
13.Toensureawiderdissemination ofanyresultsobtained,the
Commission foritsparthasusedthefollowing methods :
•-thesymposium inLuxembourg in1979,whichwasattended byabout
500delegates from25different countries .Inall,72reports
andmemoranda werepresented anddiscussed atthesymposium ;
-thepublication ofprogress reportsonthevariousprojects .
ThemostrecentreportofthistypewillbeissuedinApril1982;
...76

-6-
-theregularholdingofspecislmeetings towhichareinvited
representatives ofcompanies activeinaspecific sectorofthe
oilindustry .Atthesemeetings agreatdealofinformation is
exchanged withaviewtogetting companies tocooperate oncertain
projects .
V.FINANCIAL SITUATION
14.Figuressettingoutthefinancial situation wit.iregardtothe
sevenseriesofprojects whichhaveobtained Community supportare
giveninAnnexI,Tables 2,3and4.
Commitments
15.Withtheexception of543,644u.a.in1976(asumcorresponding
tonon-differentiated appropriations notusedbythecontractors )
allappropriations forcommitment enteredinthebudgethavebeen
used.
Duringthefiveyearsforwhichtheprogramme hasbeenrunning,
Councildecisions wereneveradopteduntiltheendoftheyear
whichmeantthatlargesumswerealwayscarriedforwardtothe
following financial year.
Since1979thedatebywhichapplications forsupporthavetobe
submitted hasbeenbroughtforward andtheCommission 'sandCouncil's
decision-making procedures havebeenspeeded upsothatthetotals
carriedoverwerereducedto1,215,604 EUAin1980and4,690,047 ECU
in1981. 1
Payments
16.Asregardsappropriations sorpayment,themosttypicalfeatureof
1)whichsince1974hasbeen'bpersistently lowrate->futilisation
thesituation hasnowimproved andnoappropriations werecarried
forwardattheendofthe198-1financial year.Stepsweretakento
ensurethatappropriations forpayment wouldbeusedinfullinfuture.
1)AnnualreportoftheCourtofAuditors forthe1979financial year,
p.127,paragraph 8,7

-7-
17.Wherethepaymentratesperprojectseriesisconcerned,Table3sets
outthesituation asat31December 1981.Itwillbenotedthat,
forthesevenseriesofprojects financed,69.1million ECUofthe
212.5millioncontracted bytheendof1981stillhavetobepaid
tothebeneficiaries .Thismeansthatbetween 9June1975,the
datewhenthefirstsupportcontract wassigned,toDecember 1981,
thelastdatecovered bythisreport,67.5%of'Community support
committed undercontract waspaidouttorecipients .Thisisan
improvement of12.7%overtheprevious report,thatfor1980.
Repayment ofsupport
18.Article 4ofRegulation No.3056/73statesthatCommunity subsidies
arerepayable undercertainconditions .Whentheresultsofapro­
jectbegintobecommercially exploited ,theCommission setsatime­
tablefortherepayment ofcapital andinterest .Repayments are
enteredasrevenueintheCommunity budget.
19.On31December 1981,66ofthe242Councilapprovedprojects had
beencompleted withthefollowing results :
-23projects involving subsidies of41.2million ECUhavebecome
totalorpartial commercial successes andshouldresultinthe
repayment of21.1million ECU,i.e.51.2%ofthesubsidies granted;
-inthecaseof34projects,wherethesubsidies amounted to42.3
million ECU,thetechnical.workhasbeencompleted assetoutin
theprogrammes andthecompanies responsible fortheprojects are
workingonthecommercial application oftheresults.Someof
theseprojects willgiverisetorepayments ;
-9projects whichreceived atotalsubsidyof5.2million ECUhave
suffered technical setbacks and,inaccordance withtheprovisions
ofRegulation 3056/73,therewouldbenorepayments .
20.Asitsometimes takesquitealongtimebeforetheresultscanbe
exploited commercially ,therealsubsidy 'repayment ratecanonly
../&

-8-
beassessedonceafairlyLongperiodoftimehaselapsed.Table4
oftheAnnexsetsouttherepaymentspositionforthefirstthree
seriesofprojects:
i)firstseries(1975):15.1millionECU,i.e.43%ofthesubsidy
of35.1millionECUoriginally paidout,hasbeenrepaid;
ii)secondseries(1976):3.5millionECU,i.e.15.2%oftheoriginal
22.9millionECU,hasbeenrepaid;
/
iii)thirdseries(1977):2.5millionECU,i.e.10%oftheoriginal
25.5milLionECU,hasbeenrepaid.
Forthethreeseriesofprojectstakenasawhole,therefore,the
averagesubsidyrecoveryrateis25%;therateoftechnicalsetbacks
isnomorethan6%.Thebalance,69%,representsprojectswhose
commercialexploitation isintheprocessofbeingsought.
Asinterestonthesubsidiesispayablefromthetimeaprojectis
commercially exploited,thetotaldueininterestonthethree
seriesofprojectstakenasawholeisalready9.4millionECU.
21.Ofthe21.1millionECUthatcompanies haveagreedtorepay,6.1
millionhavealreadybeentransferred totheCommission .The
balancewillfollowinaccordance withascheduleofrepayments .
./9

VI.CONCLUSIONS
22.Whatisemergingfromeightyearsofapplyingthehydrocarbons techno­
logyprogrammeispositive.Thetechniques weneedtoimproveour
chances0"frecovering newresources havebeenimproved,andexploration
forandproductionofoilandnaturalgasintheCommunity havebeen
speededup.
23.Onthebasisofth.eexperience theCommission hasgained,itwishes
todrawtheattentionofParliament andtheCounciltothefollowing
aspectsoftheprogramme whichitfeelscouldbeimproved:
(a)Programmeguidelines
TheCommission considersthatthetimehascomeforacriticalassess­
mentoftheresultsachieved.Itproposesthatindependent experts,
inconsultation withgovernment experts,shouldreexaminetheentire
programme,andparticularly thebalancebetweenthecostsincurred
andthebenefitsobtainedbytheMemberStates.Thereportshould
beavailablein1983.ThiswouldenabletheCommission toworkout
anynewguidelines thatmayberequiredforthefurtherprogramme.
(b)Management ofcontracts
Thenegotiation andcontractmanagement procedures havebeenconstantly
improved;inconsequence,administrative delayshavebeenreduced
considerably andbetterusehasbeenmadeoftheappropriations
enteredinthebudget.Everyeffortwillbemadetointroducefur­
therimprovements alongthesamelinesinordertoensurethatthe
managementoftheprogrammeisincreasingly effective.
Ce)Levelofsupport
Thesumsetasideforthesesubsidies,whichwas25millionU.A.
•inthefirsttwoyearsoftheprogramme andwasasmuchas50million
EUAin1977,constantly decreasedthereaftertoleveloutat23
millionECUin1981and1982.TheCommission considersthat,
whilstawaitingtheconclusions ofthestudyproposedin(a)above,
theamountenteredinthebudgetforsubsidiestothehydrocarbons
sectorshouldnotbelessthan25millionECUperyear.

ITABLE1 !'' BREAKDOWN OFPROJECTS PERSECTOROFACTIVITY ANNEXI
-ProspectingDriHingProduction
TechniquesAssisted
RecoveryΤransport Storage
Firstseries(1975)
432000
(1)9380000
(2)13790360
(6)1883673
(2)11945926
(4)1482000
(1)Subsidygranted(inU.A.)
Numberofprojects
Secondseries(1976)
3287933
(3)1483200
(1)20913651
(18)7358101
(5)1353500
(3) (-)Subsidygranted(inU.A.)
Numberofprojects
Thirdseries(1977)
605344
(4)2160528
(1)29376876
(19)3399101
(3)5663303
(4)290246
(1)Subsidygranted(inU.A./
».uί-4.EUA)Numberofprojects
Fourthseries(1978)
1055450
(5)4281599
(4)19517390
(21)4881513
(5)5091159
(5)1864769
(3)Subsidygranted(inEUA)
Numberofprojects
Fifthseries(1979)
354059
(2) (-)10996650
(10)2082395
(2)9323705
•(8).158875
(1)Subsidygranted(inEUA)
Numberofprojects
Sixthseries(1980)
1732299
(4) (-)16434162
(21).6331584
(5)1749120
(5)1849999
(1)Subsidygranted(inEUA)
Numberofprojects
Seventhseries(1981)
301046
(1)445895
(1)9707578
(13)11441194
(12)î114161
(6) (-)Subsidygranted(inECU)
Numberofprojects

TABLE 2
COMMITMENTS POSITION AT31DECEMBER 1981
Year APPROPRIATIONS AVAILABLE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTED
1974
197525000 000 u.a .
25000 000 u.a .committed at31December 1975 =25000 000 u.a .
committed at31December 1975 =13914 816 u.a .
remainder =11085 184 u.a .
50000 000 u.a . 50000 000 u.a .
1976 Remainder from 1975 11085 184 u.a .
28000 000 u.a .committed at31December 1976 =10541 540 u.a .
committed at31December 1976 =24574 725 u.a .
remainder =3 425 275 u.a . !
remainder from 1975 not used 543 644 u.a .
because projects withdrawn
39085 184 u.a . 39085 184 u.a .
1977 Remainder from 1976 3425 275 u.a
50000 000 u.a.committed at31December 1977 =3425 275 u.a .
committed át31December 1977 =19048886 u.a .
remainder f30951 114 u.a .
53425 275 u.a . 53425 275 u.a .
1978 Remainder from 1977 27959 378 u.a .
35000 000 u.a.committed at31December 1978 =27959 378 u.a .
committed at31December 1978 =8846 918 u.a .
remainder =26152 082 u.a .
62959 378 u.a . =62959 378 u.a .>22
rn
x
/-Ν
Ci
O
D
rt
CL
V-/
*)This isequivalent to30951 114 u.a .innon-differentiated appropriations .

TABLE2(cont'd)
Year APPROPRIATIONS AVAILABLE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTED
1979Remainder from1978 26291642EUA
15000000EUA
reassessment ofcommit-950000EUA
ments
42241642EUAcommitted at31December 1979 =26291642EUA
committed at31December 1979 =6446480EUA
remainder =9503520EUA
42241642EUA
1980Remainder from1979 9503520EUA
20000000EUA
reassessment ofcommit-220000EUA
ments
29723520EUAcommitted at31December 1980 =9503520EUA
committed at31December 1980 =18180979EUA
reassessment ofcommitments =823417EUA
remainder 1215604EUA
29723520EUA
1981Remainder from1980 1215604EUA
23000000EUA
transfer 4000000EUA
reassessment ofcommit-937890EUA
ments
29153494EUAcommitted at31"December 1981 =1187965EUA
committed at31December 1981 =23293141EUA
writing-down ofcommitments ·-17659EUA
remainder 4690047EUA
29153494EUA

TABLE3
PAYMENTS SITUATION AT31DECEMBER 1981
Project
sériésTotal
Commitments
inEUA1975
u.a.1976
u.a.1977
u.a.Payments
1978
EUA1979
EUA1980
EUA1981
ECURemamder
due
ECU
1stseries
2ndseries
3rdseries
4thseries
5thseries
6thseries
7thserieses
es
es
es
es36577152
31466349
37740187
31565372
22528739
29285129
23293141254667155156310
9444637477847
5596653
53072873703647
2914136
5508855
41448972123
2135189
7193187
5810593
24080232699361
5384933
4302213
4711383
5443320267787
144836
2070531
5931679
1948637
6128249
47624315545031
7532467
9251032
12511536
15688302
18530710

TABLE4
SUBSIDY REPAYMENTS -SITUATION AT31DECEMBER 1981
(inECU)
ProjectsSumspaidto
beneficiariesSubsidy Repayment
Interests on
repayments
dueTotaI
repayments
(4+6)Recovery
rate
(3:1)1non-recovei –
ablerecoverable 2
undercertain
conditionsDue^Settled
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1stseries
(1975)35074429 294118 29436844 15080348 3253447 6255916 21336264 43.0%
2ndseries
C971)22934812 2549566 7628059 3490812 1249657 1725438 5216250 15.2%
3rdseries
(1977)25464793 2417493 4118483 2538617 1604743 1437900 3976517 10.0%
TOTAL 83474034 5261177 41183386 21109777 6107847 9419254 30529031 25.3%
Amountofsubsidyaccounted for
Amountofsubsidyaccounted for
tobecommercially exploited
Amountofsubsidyaccounted forbytechnical setbacks
byprojects whichwereatotalorpartial
projects whichareacommercial successtechnical success andwhicharegoingon

-15- ANNEXII
TECHNICAL RESULTS OFTHEPROJECTS
1975-1stRoundProjects
Themostsignificant results wereobtained intheareasofpipelaying
indeepseadrilling andindeepwaterproduction techniques .
Thepipelayi ngtestsintheStraitsofMessina andtheSicilyChannel
carriedoutbySNAMweredirectly responsible forprovingtheviability
ofdeepwaterpipelaying intheMediterranean andhaveledtothecons­
truction ofthegaslinefromAlgeriatoItalywhichwillcarry12bill­
ionIT)3ofnaturalgasperyear.
Indeepseadrilling,several newpiecesofequipment,especially the
drilling equipment ofthedrillship "Petrel",weredeveloped byGERTH
(Groupement europeen deRecherches technologiques surlesHydrocarbures ).
Thisdevelopment included majoradvances indeep-sea blowoutpreventer
controls,re-entry sonarandvariousdrillingtools.Thisprojecthas
leddirectly totheabilityofCommunity companies todrillinupto
1,500mwaterdepths.
Indeepseaproduction ,studies werecarriedoutbyGERTH,whichledto
theconstruction oftheGRONDIN underwater teststation .Thiswasthe
firsttestmadeonalivefieldofatotallyunderwater mproduction sys­
temdesigned fordeepwater.
1976-2ndRoundProjects
Indeepseadrilling support wasgiventodevelopseveralnovelaspects
ofthedynamically positioned drillships"Pelerin"(GERTH)and"Ben
OceanLancer"(BenOdeco).Thedevelopment ofthesetwovesselsadded
considerably totheabilityofCommunity companies todrillforhydro­
carbonsinadeepwaterhostileenvironment .
Thesecondroundofprojects markedthebeginning ofinterest innovel
production systems.Asaresultofworkdoneinthisround,one
Community contractor ,VICKERS OFFSHORE,hasbeeninvolved inthedesign
oftheworld'sfirsttethered buoyantplatform fortheHUTTONfieldin
theNorthSea.Also,another Community qompany,BRITISH PETROLEUM,is
developing adeepwatergasproduction system.
Excellent resultswereobtained intheareaofnaturalgastechnology
andCommunity supporthassucceeded inputting PREUSSAG andSALZGITTER
intheforefront ofLNGdevelopments offshore .
Thisroundalsomarkedtheemergence ofenhanced recovery technology ,
andaverysuccessful pilotproject wascarriedoutbyGERTHonthe
CHATEAURENARD reservoir .Iftheresultsofthisprojectproveapplic­
ableonawidescale,therecoverable reservesoftheCommunity will
besubstantially increased ;estimates oftheincrease rangefrom10
to50million ofoil.

1977-3rdRound
Inproduction technology amajorprojectcarriedoutbyGERTHhasLed
tothedevelopment andtestingofcomponents foradeepwaterproduct­
ionsystem.Everyaspectofthesystemhasbeenbroughttoastage
whereasuitable fieldisnowbeingsoughtonwhichtoconfirmthe
resultsofcomponent tests.Avaluable offshoot ofthisprogramme has
beenthefurther development oftheJ-curvepipelaying method,which
isofmajorimportance .
PREUSSAG continued'to developtheirexperience ingastechnology by
carrying outacomprehensive examination ofoffshore liquefaction of
naturalgas,anovelaspectofthisprogramme isthedevelopment of
anoffshore LNGloading arm.Thisprojectwillhavemanyapplications
inNorthSeamarginal fielddevelopment .
Threeenhanced recovery programmes weresuccessfully completed byAGIP,
BRITISH PETROLEUM andGERTH.Theseprogrammes notonlygiveEuropean
oilcompanies handsonexperience ofthisveryimportant technology but
should,inthemediumterm(5years),leadtoanincrease inrecoverable
reserves.Estimated rangefrom20-100million m30foil.
Anovelpipelinecompression station wassuccessfully developed by
BORSIG;thissystemhasbeeninstalled onatestbasisonapipeline
andisprovingverysuccessful .
1978-4thRound
Drillingtechnique wasimproved byGERTHfordrilling horizontal wells.
Thistechnique hasprovedverysuccessful andwillbeusedshortlyto
developtheRospoMarefieldinItaly.
Production technology wasverymuchtotheforeinthisround;anin­
sertwellhead wassuccessfully developed bySHELLINTERNATIONAL andis
presently undertest.BRITISH GAShavesuccessfully developed afluid­
isedgasbedtoenrichheavyoil;thisdevelopment hasalreadyattracted
theinterest ofsomeJapanese gascompanies .
Theenhanced recovery sectorgrewforthethirdsuccessive yearand
although someoftheprojects haveyettobecompleted,ingeneral
theresultshavebeenveryencouraging .
Inpipeline technology ,aprojecttodevelop acryogenic flexible by
COFLEXIPisabouttoattainitsobjective .Thisdevelopment willhave'
enormouspotential,especially intheareaofoffshore loadingofliquid
naturalgasandvariousnaturalgasliquids.