With deepwater drilling suspended in the Gulf of Mexico (though existing production is allowed to continue), the distinction between traditional “deepwater” and the newer “ultradeep” is worth a look.
Macondo, where the Deepwater Horizon rig was drilling, was just on the edge of “ultra-deepwater” threshold at 5,000 feet of water. Drilling in waters deeper than this is a fairly new practice which has only emerged in the past few years, as this diagram from the EIA shows:
Ultradeep (5,000 feet plus) is the new deep (1,001 – 5,000 feet): the EIA says that while deepwater is declining, ultra-deepwater has grown in recent years:
GOM oil production began from shallow water fields (water depth of under 1,000 feet) but shallow water production began to fall in 1998. Steadily increasing volumes from deepwater fields (water depths between 1,000 and 4,999 feet) offset these declines until 2004, after which deepwater production also began to decline. But, ultra-deepwater production (water depths more than 5,000 feet) has risen dramatically since 2004 (and more than tripled since 2005), stemming the overall decline in GOM Fed production.
Then there are the drilling depths, too. Although BP’s Tiber prospect (discovered last year) is in 4,132 feet of water, the well itself, at 35,000 feet or almost 11km, was one of the deepest ever drilled by the industry – and not far off the deepest hole ever drilled.
Of course, with the moratorium on deepwater drilling, it remains to be seen how long it will be before Tiber and other deepwater, deep drilling fields will now be developed.
