36 AUGUST 2024 WorldWide Drilling Resource® Operation PLUTO Adapted from Information by the American Oil & Gas Historical Society (AOGHS) Wartime planners knew following the Normandy invasion, Allied forces would need vast quantities of petroleum to continue the advance into Europe. Allied leadership also knew tankers trying to reach French ports would be vulnerable to Luftwaffe attacks. To prevent fuel shortages from stalling the invasion, the top-secret “Operation PLUTO” (Pipe Line Under The Ocean) became a key allied strategy. It would fuel victory with oil production from the U.S. petroleum industry. Although by 1942, the industry had laid thousands of pipe miles across all manner of terrain, to span the English Channel would require an unprecedented leap in technology. The channel was deep, the French ports distant, and the hazards unpredictable. In great secrecy, two approaches were developed. Several unique ships would be needed to lay this new pipe under the channel. A civilian passenger vessel, London, was the first to be modified to accommodate a huge spool around which the new pipe would be coiled. The first PLUTO system required a new kind of pipe which looked more like an undersea communications cable than an oil pipeline. It exploited existing subsea cable technology, but instead of a bundle of wiring at its core, a three-inch flexible lead pipe would carry fuel. The first pipeline from Isle of Wight to Cherbourg was laid on August 14,1944, with another to follow. Welders assembled 20-foot sections of pipe into 4000-foot lengths. The pipeline was wound onto enormous floating “conundrums” designed to spool off the pipe when towed. They weighed 1600 tons each, and were pulled by three tugboats from the British site at Dungeness to the French port of Boulogne, 31 miles away. As the spools unwound, the pipe settled to the bottom of the English Channel. Ultimately, using both methods, 17 pipelines supplied thousands of gallons of fuel to Boulogne. By March 1945, one million gallons of fuel were being delivered each day and allied success was assured. Among the collections of the Imperial War Museums is a secret Operation PLUTO film produced by Royal Air Force in 1944. It detailed coverage of the network of pipes and pumping stations on the English coast, the manufacturing process of the main types of undersea pipeline used, and coverage of various sea trials of pipeline laying equipment. The end of World War II brought a hiatus to development of undersea pipeline technology. Coiled pipe reels now ride aboard specialized vessels, constructing a subsea infrastructure which safely connects natural gas and oil production platforms with refineries onshore. The D-Day logistics of supplying troops put ashore on Omaha and Gold beaches in June 1944, included highly classified construction of artificial harbors, codenamed Mulberrys, and employing the ancestors of today’s jack-up rigs. Mulberrys used barges 200 feet long and 60 feet wide – each with four retractable 60-foot pylons to provide platforms to support floating causeways that extended to the beaches. Tons of supplies and equipment came ashore in the massive effort. Offshore drilling companies adopted this jack-up pier technology after the war. Offshore exploration advanced rapidly after Kerr McGee’s 1947 success with the first producing well out of sight of land, the KerrMac No. 16, which stood in only 20 feet of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Pylons grew in length from the original 60 feet to almost 300 feet. Col. Leon B. DeLong of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued developing D-Day’s jack-up rig concept. After the war, DeLong designed platforms that began operating as Modular Offshore Drilling Units miles from shore. Editor’s Note: In between our print issues, the WWDR Team prepares an electronic newsletter called E-News Flash by WorldWide by WorldWide Drilling Resource®. This newsletter is filled with articles not included in our print issue. Based on readership, this was the most popular article of the month. Get in on the action and subscribe today at: worldwidedrillingresource.com G&O San Francisco, December 15, 1958. Seemingly towering above the Golden Gate Bridge, this barge with towering legs proceeds on its way towards the open sea. The towers, which eventually served as legs reaching to the ocean floor, were raised again after passing the bridge. Thank you! Much appreciated receiving this publication (E-News Flash). Linda Burson Mazon Associates Irving, TX
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