The research project, 'Subsea Production System' has been conducted since 1978, and is sponsored by the MITI as a seven-year national project. Eighteen major Japanese companies have been invovled in the project, including Kobe Steel, which spearheaded the development of a subsea wellhead system and developed a new type of titanum riser and a reentry system. These advances make possible the installation and maintenance of wellheads in deep water without employing divers or guidelines.