THE PORTABLE REMOTELY OPERATED DRILL

Abstract

The Portable Remotely Operated Drill (PROD), is a new generation drill capable of obtaining 100+ m of B sized rock/sediment core in water depths down to 2,000 m. Robotically driven from a mother-ship, PROD weighs 10 tonnes in air and six tonnes in water. It provides substantial operational flexibility in coring/sampling while at the same time providing precision positioning and sampling performance independent of surface water conditions. PROD is designed specifically to travel easily with predicted major use in the oil industry, telecommunications and the global research industries. Successful testing of PROD in shallow water has occurred off Eastern and Western Australia during 1999. Deep water trials off the western coast of the USA will be completed in March 2000. When operational, PROD will be a catalyst for a new phase of ocean exploration, from which Australia must surely benefit.