Posted on 03/25/2013 9:51:40 AM PDT by thackney
Chevron struck oil in a well drilled more than 6 miles deep in a new field off the coast of Louisiana, the company said Monday.
Operating in 6,000 feet of water, Chevron drilled through a thick underground salt layer to find oil at a depth of 31,866 feet below sea level.
The well found 400 feet of net oil pay. Feet of net pay is a measurement used by oil companies to gauge the vertical thickness of the hydrocarbon-bearing area found in an exploration well.
The so-called Coronado prospect is located more than 190 miles south of Louisiana and is a part of a region dubbed the Lower Tertiary Trend, which is especially challenging to drill in because a thick underground salt layer makes seismic scans challenging to read.
“The Coronado discovery continues our string of exploration successes in the Lower Tertiary Trend, where Chevron is advancing multiple projects,” Gary Luquette, president of Chevron’s
North America exploration and production division, said in a statement. “It also highlights the importance of the deepwater Gulf of Mexico as a source of domestic energy for the United States.”
The Gulf of Mexico is one of Chevron’s primary worldwide focal points for its exploration and production program. The San Ramon, Calif.-based company started running a test well in February at another ultradeep-water location there, which produced at a high rate of 13,000 barrels per day.
The successful exploration effort announced Monday was Chevron’s second attempt to drill into the Coronado prospect after a 2011 attempt was abandoned. Drilling then was stopped because of “adverse drilling conditions in the shallow section of the wellbore,” said Russell Johnson, a spokesman for Chevron.
The company began its second attempt there in mid-2012, eventually reaching a total depth equal to the height of 22 Empire State Buildings, Chevron said.
Chevron holds a 40 percent stake in the well, with other owners including ConocoPhillips, with a share of 35 percent; Anadarko Petroleum Corp, with a 15 percent holding; and Venari Offshore LLC, with 10 percent.
Drilling through thick salt layers is especially challenging because of the difficulty in analyzing data and also because of the operations of ships that drill for miles underground, where they encounter extreme pressures and temperatures.
The cost of operating an ultradeepwater drillship to work in those conditions can exceed $600,000 per day.
why not just drill on dry land 6 miles and see what you find? It seems to mee you find oil anyplace you drill deep enough, and it would be much safer- or am I missing something?
Yep, the history of dry holes.
Oil isn't found everywhere, but in many sedimentary basins of ancient seas, it is found.
Gotta STOP that!!
It endangers the Left-Handed Burrowing Benthic Pigmay Crab!!!
Wow. I’d say they have really gone the extra mile.
Hi Mr. K —
Yes, I think you are missing something. Major oil companies drill where they are fairly certain there will be oil/gas. They just don’t plop down a rig and start drilling. That is for wildcatters. Oil companies (Devon, in particular) has a 97% success rate. All/most of the majors do as well. A person can’t punch a hole in the ground and hope for oil. I haven’t seen cost figures on this well, but my limited experience is that the consortium of companies has probably expended North of $15 Million to find the pool. Completion costs will equal, or surpass that amount. It will be years before they get a payback.
That is why companies don’t just drop a string of drill pipe anywhere.
I hope this was helpful. I am willing to be corrected by fellow FReepers with more experience than my small well at 12,000 feet on dry land.
Gwjack
I didn't know Dinosaurs lived that far down in underground caves ( sarc-off ).
I am beginning to think the Russian PHD's and their abiotic oil Theories are not crazy...
Yeah, but over one mile of it was water, not that difficult to drill thru....;^)
Figure 6 line from above map.
Source: Chapter 15 Depositional Evolution of the Gulf of Mexico Sedimentary Basin
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1874599708000154
So is abiotic oil hokum?
Also understand that before a major oil company spends these kind of dollars to send down a drill, they send down ultrasonic sound waves and spend significant effort evaluating the bounce back and what may lay at that depth.
It isn’t perfect revealing what is down there, but it gives very good information with 3D seismic where structure may contain a petroleum trap in the sedimentary rock.
3D seismic data
http://www.glossary.oilfield.slb.com/en/Terms/sym/3d_seismic_data.aspx
Using the understanding of petroleum geology in sedimentary basins, oil companies have produced a lot of oil, and some dry holes.
All that has been produced from the abiotic oil theory is money from gullible investors and occasional governments.
Thack,
What is the connection, geologically, between salt layers/domes and oil deposits?
What you are missing is that our government has made it way to much trouble to drill on shore. Yes some drilling does happen but there are way too many people that complain about it and way too many regulations.
“Left-Handed Burrowing Benthic Pigmay Crab!!!”
Trying saying that three times in a row...drunk!
This site gives a short explanation with links to more info, depending how much info you want.
http://www.priweb.org/ed/pgws/systems/traps/structural/structural.html#salt
Drill through the layers of salt and muck
Be about time we found some luck.
Deep ocean drillin's
Mighty fulfillin'
Under the sea!
The unfortunate thing, if it hasn’t been said already, is that finding the oil isn’t so much a new thing. We keep finding more oil all over US soil and surrounding ocean. Getting government clearance to actually drill is thing holding back.
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