Deepwater oil fields are a final frontier (USA TODAY)
Original story here, Portuguese translation here. Great quote!
The increasing prominence of deepwater discoveries such as Tahiti illustrates a core truth behind the steadily rising cost of fuel: All of the easy oil has been found or used. Now, drillers must navigate 4,000 feet of water and an additional 20,000 feet of sand, rock and salt to find what the Earth has left.
“People back home don’t think about that, but that’s 5 miles! Back when I started in this business, if you went 2 miles, that was a great thing. You got your name on a plaque,” says Buddy Horton, a safety consultant at DC International of Lafayette, La., and a 32-year industry veteran.
The more expensive the oil gets, the more alternatives are raised.
This story focuses on one of these alternatives: this “new” oil source is mainly found in Gulf of Mexico, the Brazilian coast and West Africa. It won’t make much to reduce current expensive fuel prices, but it will make two things: (1) allow people to keep on using oil and (2) encourage R&D for new energy alternatives.
Today Chevron drills 9% of its oil from the ocean; their goal for 2015 is 25%. Interesting numbers for those interested to work on this industry!
Personal notes after the jump.
Biofuels and deepwater oil fields are the easiest paths on this high-priced oil scenario. The technology already exists and in some cases is good (Petrobras’ extracts most of its oil from deepwater oil fields), in some it needs improvement (the Brazilian ethanol gathers quite a few exceptions that make it quite competitive). Also remember Canada here.
Two things not mentioned in this article: the possibility of hurricanes on this area and how finding new oil/energy sources might be helpful to stabilize both oil prices and Middle East politics at once.
