REPORT: BP finds big oil in Gulf of Mexico
Even during the recession, oil is hovering at around $70 per barrel. There are many reasons for elevated oil prices, such as emerging markets demanding more crude and market speculators. Perhaps the biggest reason of all, however, is that oil is just harder to come by, as all the obvious spots have already been drilled.
So when a massive oil reserve is uncovered, it's big news. British Petroleum has made just such a find, as it has reportedly discovered between three and six billion barrels of crude oil and natural gas in the Gulf of Mexico about 250 miles off the coast of Texas. The find was made after BP drilled down a record seven miles, giving the oil giant another massive reserve a few hundred miles from where the natural resource is used most.
Autoline Daily notes that BP already pumps about 400,000 barrels per day in the region, and experts say the find could result in another 250,000 barrels of black gold a day towards the end of the next decade. That sounds mighty impressive until you remember that the U.S. uses about 20 million barrels of oil every day. Follow the jump to watch the latest edition of Autoline Daily.
Autoline Daily notes that BP already pumps about 400,000 barrels per day in the region, and experts say the find could result in another 250,000 barrels of black gold a day towards the end of the next decade. That sounds mighty impressive until you remember that the U.S. uses about 20 million barrels of oil every day. Follow the jump to watch the latest edition of Autoline Daily.
[Source: Autoline Daily | Image: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
adam1drift 6:12PM (9/05/2009)
good thing we don’t let American companies drill off the Gulf...
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Jimbo 6:14PM (9/05/2009)
This has nothing to do with all the hype last year about expanding off-shore drilling. BP was already drilling in this area. The just drilled deeper.
adam1drift 6:29PM (9/05/2009)
That doesn’t make a difference… there is oil out there to find and the argument is for the environment yet other countries still drill off our coasts and make money? Why not American companies?
Jimbo 6:41PM (9/05/2009)
You need to do a bit of research...ExxonMobil, Chevron, Murphy Oil, and ConocoPhillips are all American companies and they all drill do offshore drilling.
Iwa 6:46PM (9/05/2009)
American oil companies do drill in the Gulf of Mexico. Also, the US Government leases the rights for the sites to be explored. Cuba has also recently started to lease rights off of their coast. BP bought Amoco, so your attack on a British firm is unfounded.
Skybreak 6:48PM (9/05/2009)
If you make is difficult or impossible for foreign companies to work in US territories than those foreign countries will make it difficult or impossible for US companies to work over there.
Yes it would be better for the US if it was a US company finding this oil, but this is still very good news for US jobs, the economy, and for the US not being quite so reliant on foreign oil.
adam1drift 6:53PM (9/05/2009)
When did I attack BP? I have no beef with them and don’t care that they lease off our shore. And I know that we drill off our shore as well, I live in Texas for crying out loud YES I know that. I’m talking about the federal government not allowing us to research more and find new areas along our coasts to drill and find these bigger pockets that could decrease the cost of oil for everyone and spark big job growth.
Everyone is so keen on attacking American oil companies of just trying to do business… I don’t get it?
Jimbo 7:02PM (9/05/2009)
The government isn't restricting research into offshore drilling technologies. They just limit how close to shore they can drill. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.
And the development of alternative fuels and infrastructure, an updated power grid, and energy-efficient technologies can produce far more job growth than maintaining the status quo of trying to squeeze more oil out of the earth.
James 7:57PM (9/05/2009)
"The find was made after BP drilled down a record seven miles..."
With that deep thru the crust...it's gotta be abiotic/abiogenic oil.
Peak oil imo is but a myth by big oil/OPEC to brainwash and gouge the world's consumers...
why not the LS2LS7? 10:06PM (9/05/2009)
250 miles from the US coast means it was a lease from the US government. So that makes your argument really dumb. Yes, it was BP/Arco/Amoco who found it, but it could have been any company.
why not the LS2LS7? 2:09AM (9/06/2009)
I'm not a fan of the peak oil fear either. But even if oil is determined to not be crushed dinosaurs (very likely in my opinion), that still doesn't mean that there's an unlimited supply or even if there is, that we can afford to burn it all and put that CO2 into our atmosphere.
mcatrage 2:10AM (9/06/2009)
If the platform is 250 miles out I'm pretty sure it's considered international waters. Countries influence only go 200 miles into the ocean so if it isn't within another countries Exclusive Economic Zone I'm guessing international waters.
why not the LS2LS7? 3:30AM (9/06/2009)
Oil rights extend to the edge of the continental shelf. Which, as you see, covers the entire Gulf.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outer_Continental_Shelf
So it falls under the US exclusive economic zone for oil, and thus it certainly is leased from the Federal government.
Jimbo 6:13PM (9/05/2009)
Seems like an awful lot of work to find less than a year's worth of oil. I wonder how cost effective accessing deep deposits like this are compared to extracting oil from oil shale in Canada or GTL technology.
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Name: 6:13PM (9/05/2009)
So the headline says "BIG" oil find, yet the US uses more than the entire find by noon? How does that make this news?
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Mike 6:20PM (9/05/2009)
it's a big deal because it's a big find. If you're expecting there to be some megafield out there that will meet all our needs you really have no idea of the big picture when it comes to obtaining oil.
Jimbo 6:23PM (9/05/2009)
Which gets back to the question I posed above: how big and easily-accessible does the oil need to be before alternative approaches become cost-competitive?
0tto 6:25PM (9/05/2009)
What a difference one letter makes:
Find = 3-6 BILLION (3,000,000,000 - 6,000,000,000)
U.S. Daily usage = 20 million (20,000,000)
Name: 7:40PM (9/05/2009)
Ouch...owned by comprehension. My bad!
Val 11:11AM (9/06/2009)
it still is a 300 day supply... although with that rate of extraction (200 000 bpd) it should last for 30-60 years.