Payoff from the Sea Floor

Near Santa Barbara, a test to tap natural oil and gas leaks

Two and a half miles off the beaches of Santa Barbara County, Calif., near a promontory called Coal Oil Point, two barges and a tug maneuvered a pyramid-shaped contraption into position. Measuring 100 ft. by 100 ft. across its base and weighing 350 tons, the iron monster dangled from two large derricks, one of which had been towed from its home base in Malta. Once the engineers were satisfied that the pyramid was near the right spot, they lowered it by cable, adjusted its position and let it settle onto the bottom, 220 ft. down.

The objective of the unique operation is to capture oil and gas from fissures on the ocean floor, helping to rid local beaches of a thick, gooey carpet of tar that washes up daily. Says County Supervisor William Wallace: "If your dog got loose and went down to the beach, it would take you an hour to clean his feet." Still worse, the putrid smell of hydrogen sulfide often hangs over the area like vapor from a truckload of rotten eggs. The culprit is not a leaking oil well, but nature. The ocean floor is spilling large quantities of oil and natural gas through fissures that geoloists call seeps. Says Petroleum Geologist Robert Gaal of the California State lands commission: "There are thousands of them down there. It's like a sieve."

To tap those natural polluters, the Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO) ordered up two pyramidal traps, the first of which was installed a fortnight ago. Placed over an area with a large concentration of leeps, they will sit on the sea floor like upside-down funnels, collecting gas and oil. The natural gas is siphoned off through a 6-in.-wide pipe that runs along the ocean bottom to shore. The oil will be stored in tanks within the pyramids and periodically emptied by ships. The project is expected to yield 50 bbl. of oil and 600,000 cu. ft. of gas a day, which will not be enough to offset the $8 million investment made by ARCO and its partners, Mobil and Aminoil USA, Inc. The capping operation, however, will produce other benefits.

Geologists believe the seeps are bubbling as many as eight tons of hydrocarbons a day to the surface and releasing them into the atmosphere, causing much of Santa Barbara's air pollution. Under a deal struck with state and local governments, the oil companies will get an air-pollution credit: for every two tons of hydrocarbons they eliminate, they will be allowed one ton of sulfur-and nitrogen-oxide emissions from future drilling in the Santa Barbara Channel. The pact should clear the way for developing a nearby well that could produce as many as 4,100 bbl. of oil a day. Says ARCO's offshore operations chief, Paul Rowley: "We just couldn't do it without the trade-off."

But the project has broader implications. Geologists think that oil-oozing seeps around the world may be nourishing marine microorganisms. Says U.C.L.A. Geologist Walter Reed: "Where seepage occurs, there are more and larger species of marine life." No one knows what effect capping the seeps might have on the ecological balance. Nor does anyone understand fully what causes the seeps, although in some places like Santa Barbara they seem to have been created when earthquakes fractured the sea floor, letting trapped oil and gas escape. If ARCO's pyramids succeed in capturing these fugitive riches, other oil companies may also initiate trapping projects.

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