6 miles deep is nothing. We'll be drawing oil from 25 miles deep by 2030, with ease and precision. That technology is near, and should quadruple the accessible oil supply (of the less than 1% of earth's surface that we've explored - not the 99%+ surface that we haven't explored, as the earth contains quadrillions upon quadrillions of barrels of oil).
The 'peak oil' crowd (whether true believers, i.e. delusional, or just soulless speculators looking to cash in on the latest fad) is getting restless.
Just looking at this at work. Too bad its just 36 days worth, that is if they are able to actually develop it. Its a high risk discovery due to deep water 1mi and in hurricane prone region. Need a better oil price, or stability in oil price to go forward. At least there is no political risk... I would be surprised if they develop quickly.
From the article: "It was drilled to approximately 35,055 feet (10,685 meters), greater than the height of Mount Everest." I eyeballed it, and said about 6 miles. The actual number is 6.6 miles. Who's clueless?
You may know finance and how severe the current banking crisis is - but you are totally clueless about peak oil. Oil companies' value is judged by their reserves and potential finds. Same with many countries in the gulf. Everyone overestimates their reserves. Shell Oil was fined for overestimating reserves in 2007: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6544057.stm So much for your greedy oil company peak oil theory. It's much more complicated than that. Do speculators benefit? Absolutely. But that doesn't disporove the theory. I suggest you study peak oil before saying that a 3 billion brll *potential* find is "great." Otherwise, you just prove your ignorance.
The continental crust on planet Earth is typically from 30 km (20 mi) to 50 km (30 mi) thick. If you could drill 25 miles into this crust at the right location, you've reached unlimited geothermal power from the Earth's core. Oil won't be needed.
Reminds me of that 'crack in the world' movie from the 60's. Can we get the crack over by afghanistan, please? http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059065/
The peak oil nonsense wouldn't be up for discussion if the archaic internal combustion engine was allowed to be phased out. Instead of phasing out this anachronistic technology, what do we do? we give subsidies to farmers to grow food crops to provide more fuel for this ancient technology. Oil dependency. That's what we get for allowing illiterates to elect their idiots into office.
Once again, none of the clowns trying to make the point are in the "OIL INDUSTRY". Typical Elite Trader bantor from most. PEAK OIL theory is only a Theory and not proven. New finds happen all the time. The Find in the Gulf Coast is a great find, as is the find in Brazil and countless othere areas. In the US, the largest Oil producing field is the ELM COULEE Field in Richland County, Montana....in the Bakkan Shale. Read the USGS figuers on the recoverable amount in just that find alone. I am in the Industry. We do have a Oil Company, we drill Domestic Industry Projects. Our investors, our Oil Partners and anyone in the industry laugh at the Peak Oil Theory. Look up the Term SOURCE ROCK. Plenty of such rocks around the world. Limit natural resource only means, the amount found and taken out of the ground........new science used today, is saying that the Earth produces oil, from Source Rock and such continue all be it at a very slow pace. China is buying up 17 billion in Oil Producing fields because she position herself, just like in the steel markets about 5 years ago, to lock in oil at great prices before 2 quarter 2010. The economy turns and demand picks up, you bet your ass your gona see 100 plus oil by 1 or 2 quarter of 2010. China will be able to feed her industry oil at a far cheaper price than the world market....just as she did steel.