Over the coming decades, energy sources will continue to evolve and diversify, driven by changes in technology, consumer needs, and public policies. On the other hand liquid supplies, referring primarily crude oil, are projected to remain the single biggest source of energy and vital to transportation.
The BP Deepwater Horizon explosion in April 2010 occurred after a dramatic, three-decade-long reconfiguration of how the United States and several other nations drill for oil. Technology, law, and geology pushed oil exploration farther from U.S. shores, as land-based exploration became less fruitful, and the global demand for energy ramped up. Oil production off American coasts began well over a century ago, but the move into deepwater and ultra-deepwater is a relatively recent phenomenon. This post presents a brief history of offshore oil drilling based on a relevant staff working paper by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
According to Fitch’s Ratings Russian oil production will probably peak in the next few years as the gains from new oil fields are offset by falling output from brownfield sites. The ratings agency said Russia posted another post-Soviet oil production record in 2012, but added that significant new exploration, in particular on the Russian continental shelf, would be required over many years to increase output further.
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Officer of the Watch 