Chapter 3 – Offshore Platforms

Modern offshore crude oil and natural gas exploration—the search for likely environments where crude oil and natural gas may exist in the rock formations that are beneath the surface of the waterways of the world. In addition, offshore operations include transporting crude oil and natural gas from their point of production offshore to refineries and plants on land. Very little refining of the crude oil and natural gas is carried out on the production platform. This chapter focuses on exploration, drilling, and production of crude oil and natural gas and the wide range of technologies involved as well as the additional technologies that relate to a marine environment necessary for offshore activities.