Drilling on the Atlantic shelf?

baha · Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:21 am Post subject: Drilling on the Atlantic shelf?

Can someone explain to me why there would be oil on the atlantic continental shelf. I don't know much about oil drilling but I do know geology. The way I understand it, the atlantic sea floor is recently (in geologic time) created crust that spreads from the mid-atlantic ridge. This rock has never been above water, much less covered with peat bogs or other organic material. Where is the oil supposed to have come from?

Are there currently any producing wells offshore in the atlantic in water more than 500 ft deep? If so, where did the oil come from?

Just curious. dontknow

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dorlomin · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Aug 05, 2007 Posts: 1117

dorlomin · Light Sweet Crude Joined: Aug 05, 2007 Posts: 1117

Do you mean off of the shelf, the shelf is where the continental land mass basicaly comes to an end.... if so then....

http://www.peakoil.com/fortopic42946.html

mostly due to the thinness of the crust on the oceanic shore and steep heat gradient inside the rock leaving a narrow oil window (woo look at me, sounds like I know what I am talking about )

Tyler_JC

There probably isn't any oil off the coast of Maine if that's what you're thinking about.

But there might be oil off the coasts of Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas.

When they're talking about offshore atlantic drilling, they are talking about Florida.

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ROCKMAN

Folks,

Before you write off the east coast you might search Hibernia Field...discovered in 1979. It's on the Canadian side of the eastern OCS just north of Maine. It has an est. UR of 1.2 to 1.9 billion BO. Recently a 240 million BO was made near to it. They also found a 700 billion cubic ft gas field out there. It's a tough environment to drill and produce but it was done. Drilling down south would be a lot easier.

But geology does change over distances. Might not be as much potential going south...might be twice that much. As a petroleum geologist for 33 years I can tell you no one can predict with any degree of accuracy without drilling...and maybe drilling a lot. A reminder: the great North Sea Basin, with it's 25 billion bo produced to date, took 92 wells drilled before the first big field was discovered. I'll explain again what the oil patch definition of "probable reserves" is": there not enough data for you to prove my number is wrong (be it a big or little number).

baha

Thanks for the info,

I figured this had been discussed before. I just couldn't find it. Thanks for the link.

So the concerns about drilling off VA and the eastern seaboard are pointless. It's hard to cause environmental damage with a dry hole!! The Oil companies need something to spend all that profit on, so let them drill. Very Happy

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OilFinder2

There are large deposits of oil up and down the west African coast, plus they're making large discoveries off the coast of Brazil. Then of course there's lots of oil in the Gulf of Mexico. All these areas were formed around the same time (though the North & Central Atlantic is a bit older). Age, at least, shouldn't be a factor.

Late Jurassic

Late Cretaceous

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ROCKMAN

So true Stavid. That's why I generally reject every number folks throw out, whether big or small, as to the amount of "probable reserves" there are out there. As I may have told you before I've only drilled two "can't miss" wells in my career and they both missed. On the other side of the coin, consider Mexico's big 25 billion bbl Cantarell Field. It exists because of circumstances no geologist would ever speculate on. Most don't know it but the field produces from rubble caused by the impact of a giant meterorite. Any geologist who would propose that his comapnyrun around th world looking for oil in meterorite craters would be fired on the spot.

TheDude

ROCKMAN

Dude,

Read a short bit about how the original Ixtoc location was picked. a local fisherman spotted an oil seep. Maybe another urban legend..maybe not. Oil seeps are not uncommon in the Gulf....lots still oozing oil today.

FYI: that managing mud weight against the down hole pressures is what I do for a living. Nothing can motivate you to do a good job like the prospect of dying a flaming death if you screw up.

Starvid