The development of cargo submarines for polar use

Abstract

The United States and Canada, like other northern industrial nations, are under considerable economic pressures to develop their indigenous resources of oil and natural gas. Incentives for exploration and development are provided by increases in the price of fuels on world markets and political instability in the Middle East, the major alternative source of supply. The Arab oil embargo of 1973–74 quadrupled prices per barrel from US$3.00 to US$12.00 in less than a year; since then the price on world markets has trebled and remains unstable. Searches for new sources of energy in the far north have led firstly to the discovery of major shore-based fields (for example those centred on Prudhoe Bay), and the extension of old ones (Norman Wells), and more recently to important developments off-shore. Many new sites are now being explored, and to date over two billion dollars have been spent by the US and Canada, to find and develop Arctic offshore wells. As yet not a cent has been earned in return, largely because there are at present no means of delivering the petroleum from offshore sites—no safe and reliable system of transportation equivalent to the pipelines from shore-based sites. Industry and government are considering alternatives, but no full-scale construction or procurement programmes have yet been launched.

Antarctic logistic support for the Earth sciences

“…An example is the suggested utilization of large submarines. Use of submarines for carrying valuable cargo under difficult conditions has been a reality since 1916, when German cargo submarines carried rubber, dyes, and strategic metals through a British blockade [McLaren, 1983]. Submarines towing large bladders for crude oil have been suggested for removing oil from Arctic submarine oil fields.…”

Transporting Arctic petroleum: a role for commercial submarines

“…The final phase of the plan (1991)(1992)(1993)(1994)(1995)(1996)(1997)(1998)(1999)(2000) envisages daily production of 1.25 million barrels from 400 wells linked into eight fixed or mobile systems, with full-scale natural gas production achieved by 1992 (APOA 1981 a). Finally USS Gurnard spent almost a month working in its shallower portions during the summer of 1976 (McLaren 1982a(McLaren , 1983Wadhams and Home 1980). US S Redfish operated there in the early 1950s, USS Sargo explored particular areas during winter 1960, and USS Seadragon explored other areas in the summers of 1960 and 1962.…”

“…Large-scale seismic surveys from the late 1960s onward have revealed some 50 promising geological structures, estimated to contain about 8 % of Canada's total potential oil and gas reserves. The Northwest Passage has already been successfully transited in both winter and summer by US submarines (McLaren 1982a(McLaren , 1983. sought approval to drill a wildcat well, Dundas K-56, in the middle of the Sound in 1985 (Oilweek 1983f).…”

“…In my earlier article on the development of cargo submarines for polar use (McLaren 1983) I drew attention to proposals by General Dynamics for LNG submarine supertankers, of length up to 448 m and beam 70 m, with a minimum cargo capacity of 125000 m 3 of liquefied gas (Veliotis and Reitz 1981;Robb 1982). Plans for more modest supertankers of 275 to 305 m length were also discussed; these were among several proposals put forward during the past two decades, generally for vessels very much larger than even the biggest military submarines currently in use.…”

“…This article follows from an earlier discussion of the disadvantages of giant submarine tankers in working under ice, as compared to the proven capabilities of smaller submarines and the opportunities for development that they present (McLaren 1983). Expertise gained during and since World War II has helped both countries to extend their operations into the Arctic, where exploration has revealed considerable petroleum reserves, both proven and potential.…”