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The Tiber Oil Field is a deepwater offshore oil field located in the
Keathley Canyon Keathley Canyon is an undersea canyon in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The canyon is named for the hydrographic survey ship USNS ''Sergeant George D. Keathley'' (T-AGS-35). The Canyon is rich in oil fields. Th ...
block 102 of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
sector of the
Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United S ...
. The deepwater field (defined as water depth ,) was discovered in September 2009 and it is operated by BP. Described as a "giant" find, it is estimated to contain of
oil in place Oil in place (OIP) (not to be confused with original oil-in-place (OOIP)) is a specialist term in petroleum geology that refers to the total oil content of an oil reservoir. As this quantity cannot be measured directly, it has to be estimated from ...
. Although BP states it is too early to be sure of the size – a "huge" field is usually considered to contain . It required the drilling of a deep well under of water, making it one of the deepest wells ever drilled at the time of discovery.


Description

Tiber comprises multiple Lower Tertiary
petroleum reservoir A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the presenc ...
s located in Keathley Canyon block 102 about southeast of
Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...
and south west of
New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Tiber is only the 18th Lower Tertiary well to date, and drilling in these formations is in its infancy. The oil from Tiber is
light crude Light crude oil is liquid petroleum that has a low density and flows freely at room temperature. It has a low viscosity, low specific gravity and high API gravity due to the presence of a high proportion of light hydrocarbon fractions. It generally ...
, and early estimates of recoverable reserves are around 20–30% recovery, suggesting figures of around of reserves. Sources such as
Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician and ...
suggest caution, warning that the find is technically complex and potentially could take 5–6 years to produce oil or be lower yield (5–15%) based on "rates talked about" at nearby
Kaskida Oil Field The Kaskida Oil Field is an offshore oil field located in the Keathley Canyon block 292 of the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico, south-west of New Orleans, Louisiana. The field is operated by BP, and owned by BP (100%). History The ...
, BP's previous giant find (2006) away. The commercial prospects of the field have not yet been evaluated.


Discovery

BP acquired the
Outer Continental Shelf The Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) is a feature of the geography of the United States. The OCS is the part of the internationally recognized continental shelf of the United States which does not fall under the jurisdictions of the individual U. ...
lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industr ...
of Keathley Canyon block 102 reference G25782,
NOAA The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...
station 42872, on October 22, 2003, in Phase 2 of the Western Gulf of Mexico (WGOM/GOM) Sale 187. Lower Tertiary rock formations are some of the oldest and most technically challenging offshore rock formations currently drilled for oil, dating to between 23 and 66 million years ago. The plan of exploration was filed in June 2008. Tiber was initially drilled by
Transocean Transocean Ltd. is an American company. It is the world's largest offshore drilling contractor based on revenue and is based in Vernier, Switzerland. The company has offices in 20 countries, including Canada, the United States, Norway, United ...
's fifth-generation dynamic positioned semi-submersible oil rig, ''
Deepwater Horizon ''Deepwater Horizon'' was an ultra-deepwater, Dynamic positioning, dynamically positioned, Semi-submersible platform, semi-submersible offshore drilling Oil platform, rig owned by Transocean and operated by BP. On 20 April 2010, while drilling ...
'', with exploratory drilling commencing around March 2009, slightly delayed from the planned date of September 2008. Much of the deeper gulf reserves are buried under salt accumulations thousands of feet thick, which present a problem for
seismic exploration Reflection seismology (or seismic reflection) is a method of exploration geophysics that uses the principles of seismology to estimate the properties of the Earth's subsurface from reflected seismic waves. The method requires a controlled seismic ...
. BP had previously developed exploration techniques to bypass this difficulty. Oil was located at "multiple levels". The field was announced on September 2, 2009, and BP shares rose 3.7 percent on the news. With Tiber joining at least ten other successful Lower Tertiary explorations in the area, analysts viewed the announcement as a sign for optimism, and a harbinger of renewed interest in, and production from, the offshore Gulf of Mexico.


Exploration on hold

Following the April 2010 destruction of the ''Deepwater Horizon'' while drilling the Macondo well, and the resulting
oil spill An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is usually given to marine oil spills, where oil is released into ...
, all appraisal activities at 33 wells under exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, including Tiber, were placed on hold. At least two rigs that might otherwise have been used for developing Tiber are also in use on the
relief well Relief wells are used both in the natural gas and petroleum industry and in flood control. Fossil fuels In the natural gas and petroleum industry, a relief well is drilled to intersect an oil or gas well that has experienced a blowout. Specializ ...
s for the ruptured well.


See also

*
Oil fields operated by BP This is a list of oil and gas fields operated by BP. United Kingdom All fields in British territory are operated as part of the BP's North Sea Strategic Performance Unit from their office in Dyce, Aberdeen. This includes some fields not stric ...
*
Offshore oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico is a major source of oil and natural gas in the United States. The western and central Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, is one of the major petroleum-pr ...


References

{{Good article BP oil and gas fields Gulf of Mexico oil fields of the United States