Oil wont run out anytime soon

[Gfted1]

Linky

 

Sep 5, 10:39 AM (ET)

 

By BRAD FOSS

 

WASHINGTON (AP) - Tests of a deep-water well in the Gulf of Mexico could indicate a significant oil discovery, three companies announced Tuesday, in the first project to tap into a region that reportedly could boost U.S. oil and gas reserves by as much as 50 percent.

 

The Jack 2 well was drilled about 5.3 miles deep by U.S. oil company Chevron Corp. (CVX), with partners Statoil ASA (STO) of Norway and Devon Energy Corp. (DVN) of Oklahoma City. During the test, the Jack 2 well sustained a flow rate of more than 6,000 barrels of oil per day, Statoil said.

 

"Test results are very encouraging and may indicate a significant discovery. The full magnitude of the field's potential is still being defined," Statoil said in a statement.

 

The discovery has industrywide implications, analysts said.

 

 

"They may be the first ones to hit the jackpot, but if the current thinking is correct, this is only a beginning. Other companies will emerge as good, or better," said Oppenheimer & Co.'s Fadel Gheit.

 

The successful test wells do not mean a huge supply of oil will hit the market anytime soon. Gheit estimated that the first production might not come on line until after 2010, depending on how many more test wells the companies drill.

 

The Wall Street Journal reported in Tuesday's editions that the region where the well is located could become the nation's biggest new domestic source of oil since the discovery of Alaska's North Slope more than a generation ago.

 

The Journal said Chevron and Devon officials estimate that recent discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico's lower-tertiary formations hold up to 15 billion barrels of oil and gas reserves, a total that would boost the nation's current reserves by 50 percent.

 

The well was drilled in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf, about 270 miles southwest of New Orleans and 175 miles off the coast. It followed up a discovery made by Chevron in 2004.

 

"This area is one of the new and promising deep-water areas in the Gulf of Mexico," said Oivind Reinertsen, senior vice president of Statoil's Gulf of Mexico assets in Houston.

 

"The Jack 2 well test data are encouraging and may form the basis of future development projects in Walker Ridge," he said.

 

In a separate statement, San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron said the well set a variety of records, including the deepest well successfully tested in the Gulf of Mexico. Chevron said the well was drilled more than 20,000 feet under the sea floor below 7,000 feet of water for a total depth of 28,175 feet.

 

Chevron has a 50 percent stake in the field, while Statoil and Devon own 25 percent each.

 

Shares of Devon rose $6.10, or 9.5 percent, to $70.25 in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange, near the top end of the stock's 52-week range of $48.94 to $70.35. Shares of Chevron rose $1.02, or 1.6 percent, to $65.85.

 

 

I feel this discovery point out something often forgotten, that 70% of the Earth is covered by water. Considering that simple fact it seems extremely unlikely that oil will "run out" anytime soon. After all, we still havent discovered all the oil fields on land much less what lies underwater and with so much of the Earth under water, well, just do the math.

Edited September 5, 2006 by Gfted1

[Lucius]

We have gas prices falling over here actually, it's all speculation baby. They're (the companies) are trying to exploit the fact that there are some conflicts in the middle east. Or that's what I think anyway.

[Exmortis]

Not so much. I guarentee America will be utilizing Mexico's Oil within this year.

[Gfted1]

^Ok, how do you guarantee that?

 

As an aside, I do think its smart how we buy up and use oil supplied by others while we store ours away in strategic reserve.

[Rosbjerg]

are you planning on a majour assault perheps?

 

anyway, since alot of research is being made into alternative energi-resources I don't think oil will be that interesting a resource in (hopefully near) future!

Danish scientests have discovered away to store hydrogen in solid form without the need to freeze it permanently.. which, with further research, could provide us with alternative energy in pill-form..

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/...50907102549.htm

Edited September 5, 2006 by Rosbjerg

[Benjamin Korr]

are you planning on a majour assault perheps? 

 

anyway, since alot of research is being made into alternative energi-resources I don't think oil will be that interesting a resource in (hopefully near) future!

Danish scientests have discovered away to store hydrogen in solid form without the need to freeze it permanently.. which, with further research, could provide us with alternative energy in pill-form..

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/...50907102549.htm

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

That would definately be a nice feather in a Danish scientists cap. Or any scientists cap for that matter. Certainly could use a breakthrough like that about now. But yeah, I dont think its nearly as bad as anyones making it out to be.

[thepixiesrock]

Realistically speaking, the only way we'll ever get completely off of oil is when we use it all up and can't find any more.

[Arkan]

Realistically speaking, the only way we'll ever get completely off of oil is when we use it all up and can't find any more.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Sad, but true. It's doubly sad that we have built engines/motors that run solely on water, yet this tech isn't being fully realised.

[alanschu]

Motors that run on water?

Edited September 5, 2006 by alanschu

[Atreides]

Water wheel?

[Dark_Raven]

Steam power.

[Darque]

The whole world should go solar anyway.

 

Think Green! (w00t)

[Judge Hades]

What's not green with ethonal and biodiesel?

 

I would think fuel from plants would be the ultimate in green

 

REALLY!

[213374U]

Aw, crap. I guess China won't be going to war with the US over the last oil deposits then.

 

[Judge Hades]

Nope. We just might have to go to war over idealogical reasons instead. Damn the luck.

[Azarkon]

Aw, crap. I guess China won't be going to war with the US over the last oil deposits then.

 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Stocks in oil and the defense industry?

[Laozi]

Damn, just when we had the aliens convinced we didn't have enough natural resources left to make invasion worthwhile.

[alanschu]

Steam power.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

 

Steam Power is what most power plants use to generate power already.

Edited September 6, 2006 by alanschu

[Kaftan Barlast]

WHen is it that oil is suppose to run out again? 2028?

 

 

Motors that run on water?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Ive heard of this invention too years ago. Apparently it was a japanese scientist, but that is all I remember.

[LostStraw]

Motors running on water is BS. They run on Hydrogen, which is generated by splitting the water into its Hydrogen and Oxygen components. They just do the splitting internally instead of having to get the Hydrogen gas at a station.

 

I have been looking, but I have yet to find any technology that can do this efficiently on a small scale. All I've found through google searches are failed companies and "free energy" websites that claim such tech does exist. It would be better to just have a straight up electric car.

 

Edit: To add something -- here's a company that actually sems legitamate. They're developing a conversion kit to make gasoline cars run off Hydrogen.

http://www.switch2hydrogen.com/h2.htm

 

They seem to actually tell it like it is.

  ANY claim of fueling a car with water, and having the water converted to Hydrogen quickly enough to power a passenger vehicle is pure B.S. The bottom line is simple physics. It takes electrical energy to break the Hydrogen-Oxygen bond in water and release the free gases... and that takes time. The more energy applied to the water, the faster the gasses will evolve... up to a point.

  It is not possible to create sufficient amounts Hydrogen gas from water (on board the vehicle) fast enough to idle the smallest passenger vehicle. If you're towing a nuclear reactor behind the car, along with a motor home-sized Hydrogen generator, you might have sufficient power and volume to accomplish the task, but that kind of defeats the purpose behind the conversion.

  You can produce your own Hydrogen from electricity using either common "household current" or directly from solar cells so your energy cost is zero. It does however take a substantial amount of time to produce sufficient Hydrogen to fill even a small tank.

  As an example, it takes over 2 days of our generator running at full power, 24 hours a day, to fill our smallest "short range" tank.

Edited September 6, 2006 by LostStraw

[Dark_Raven]

Nuclear energy is our friend.

[astr0creep]

There are a couple of guys here in Montreal(and I'm sure in other places as well) that converted their car's engine to run on potato oil. When they need to fuel up they drive around fast food restaurants and pick up the discarded fryer oil and fill the tank with it. It's free and it works(but it smells horrible).

Last week I heard on the news that some farmer powers his house using cow manure(but it smells horrible).

 

I also think electricity is the way to go. But we will still be dependent on electricity producing countries, those countries that have a lot of water(like the one I live in) and we will then be back at square one, with wars for water and crap.

 

Doomed we are.

[Judge Hades]

Ah, a very apt song from Leslie Fish!

 

*Hades begins to sing*

Chorus:

Black powder and alcohol

When the states and the cities fall.

When your back is against the wall,

Black powder and alcohol.

 

Give me charcoal to the measure two.

Send the bullet where you want it to.

Give me sulfer to the measure three.

Make that powder gonna keep you free.

Give me salt peter, measure fifteen.

Sweetest shootin' that you've ever seen.

 

Gimme water, yeast, and veggie trash.

Leave it sittin' in a slurry mash.

When it's ready, put it in the still.

If you can't heat it then the sunlight will.

Draw the alcohol away, and then

Ya put the slurry back and start again.

 

Booze will clean your cuts or run your car.

You can make it anywhere you are.

Black powder in your cartridge shell

Will send the robbers runnin' clean to hell.

You can make 'em if you just know how,

So kids, remember what I'm tellin' you now.

 

Again,

 

Yahp

Edited September 6, 2006 by Judge Hades

[Dark_Raven]

That sounds a wee bit fishy.

[alanschu]

Mythbusters had an interesting episode where they examined stuff like driving your car on hydrogen. The little bit that they separated wasn't enough to start the car.

 

But because they are goofs, they did use some pressurized hydrogen and they were able to start and run the car with that. No modifications to the engine even (though at one point the hose started shooting fire, so they stopped doing that quickly.

 

They were able to get a diesel to run entirely off of used vegetable oil. They just had to use some filtering process and do some work on it first. Again, no modifications necessary (and I think they got roughly the same gas mileage too!).