HOUSTON (AP) — British oil company BP has discovered 200 million barrels of oil in a hidden cache in the Gulf of Mexico thanks to advanced imaging of geological formations.
The Houston Chronicle (http://bit.ly/2oA0ouk ) reports the oil reserve about 150 miles from New Orleans is potentially worth $2 billion in recoverable oil.
The oil reserves were discovered with the help of a new supercomputer and mathematical algorithm to interpret the seismic data, which oil companies use to map features below the earth, in a new way. The technological advancement let scientists see beyond a salt dome, which distorts seismic waves.
The imaging could save drillers hundreds of millions of dollars in false starts and dry wells, and also prevent them from missing oil.
The company is now assessing how to start drilling.
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Information from: Houston Chronicle, http://www.houstonchronicle.com