Elephant field in the Gulf

With this huge find by Chevron in the deep water area of the Gulf, will put huge pressure to really drill offshore. The early buzz is that it may be bigger than Prudhoe Bay. I am afraid massive offshore drilling is inevitable. This oilfield is 27000 feet below the surface !! Deep water drilling like this has to be very dangerous and extremely hazardous to the environment if something goes wrong. I imagine a drilling rig 5 miles on the surface above the field has to be very unstable in the event of storms.

Do you have a link to an article about it Goofer?

Do you have a link to an article about it Goofer?

Here you go. It is southwest of New Orleans. Hopefully the bandwagon will circle on that side of the Gulf, and not ours.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060905/ap_on_bi_ge/major_oil_discovery

From an energy-independence standpoint, it is good news, but on the other hand, ideally we would reduce our demand while we are searching for more oil to keep for ourselves. Petroleum is used in all kinds of things, particularly the manufacture of plastics and lots of very important things like medical devices. Using it on giant cars is such a waste.

I agree that we should be very nervous and cautious about the environmental impact of such deep drilling, but IMO it is also good to know that it is there.

black beaches anyone? No thanks.
go green!

black beaches anyone? No thanks.
go green!

Well said.

I bet the earthquake in the Gulf this past weekend is strongly connected to this field ?

Well said.

I bet the earthquake in the Gulf this past weekend is strongly connected to this field ?

What would make you think that?

What would make you think that?

What Mango said. What makes you think that, bsmart?
Anyway, at our current consumption levels, the amount of oil down there isn't all that much. And it is wa-ay down there.

I have very mixed feelings about new oil discoveries. With oil plunging in price the last month, the talking heads are already buzzing about lower gas prices at the pump and that we are awash with oil. OPEC just left production levels unchanged , adding a little more pressure on prices. OPEC is keeping the addict still lining up for the fix. WE NEED TO DEVELOP ALTERNATIVE ENERGY. WHY DO WE HAVE THE MEMORIES OF A GNAT. We will maintain the addiction to fossil fuels until we bankrupt ourselves. Where is the national leadership to get off oil. We need a Manhattan project or Marshall Plan to become totally energy independent by 2020 at the latest. All of our problems, whether economic or geo-political, are because of our dependence on foreign oil.

What about reviving our railway system?
I know it's kind of a dopey idea, but I was thinking that this would help build thousands of jobs.

I agree with you. There are certain short haul commuter trains that don't even have an engineer !!! all done by computers. Certainly we could develop better rail lines in the cities. Phoenix is developing a light train line around the city ....so is Denver. Expensive investment in the beginning but environmentally friendly and very convenient for commuters.

light train line around the city ....so is Denver. Expensive investment in the beginning but environmentally friendly and very convenient for commuters.

Unfortunately, Denver voted down the idea of a rail line up into the mountains.
I guess that was just too much $. Every weekend, I-70 is like a parking lot with traffic.
But they have indeed put in light-rail which has been wonderful both downtown and in the outskirts of the city.
You are right, it would be an expensive investment in the beginning, but the payoff could be win-win.

This oil field is over 5 MILES below sea level and my not be economical to develop until oil is over $100/barrel. Probably not until sometime next year. :shock: Even then it will be at least 5-7 years before we see significant production.