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Scientists astonished to find 600-mile long reef under the muddy water in a site already marked for oil exploration

New Spy Technology To Spawn Oil Revolution Tyler Durden 02/28/2014 18:36 -0500 The future of oil exploration lies in new technology--from massive data-processing supercomputers to 4D seismic to early-phase airborne spy technology that can pinpoint prospective reservoirs. Oil and gas is getting bigger, deeper, faster and more efficient, with new technology chipping away at “peak oil” concerns. Hydraulic fracturing has caught mainstream attention, other high-tech developments in exploration and discovery have kept this ball rolling. Oil majors are second only to the US Defense Department in terms of the use of supercomputing systems, which find sweet spots for drilling based...

Dr. Ann Maest is a managing scientist at Straus Consulting, and she’s the go to expert on all things groundwater. In the press release announcing her reappointment to the National Academy of Sciences, they mention that she is focused on the environmental effects of mining and petroleum extraction and production, and, more recently, on the effects of climate change on water quality. Maest is in high demand as an expert for those looking to stop oil and mineral exploration. She’s also heavily used by the federal government, even though after new details about her past work are coming to light...

'Never mind." That, in a nutshell, is the White House's new position on domestic oil exploration. In March, President Obama announced that he would allow -- or at least entertain -- some new oil development off the Atlantic Coast and in the eastern Gulf of Mexico. This week he reversed himself, saying such exploration is now off the table for at least five years. Only the most black-hearted cynics among us would even contemplate the notion that Obama had his re-election prospects in, say, Florida in mind when he made his decision. Then again, some believed that Obama's initial decision...

America’s most serious offshore oil spill in 20 years is currently unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, and massive cleanup efforts are underway to cap the leak and contain the oil. This comes at a time when Washington had been considering expanding domestic oil production, including the Gulf and other offshore areas. For the most part, President Obama’s initial response has been sensible, calling for a freeze on any plans to allow new leasing while not interfering with ongoing energy production contracts or calling for permanent policy changes before the facts are in. No doubt, this spill can and should...

<p>Atomic energy was one of many areas of cooperation discussed as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin made his first visit to the South American country.</p>

North Dakota sits on one of the largest pools of oil in North America. The Bakken Shale Formation is estimated to hold nearly four billion barrels of oil that can be extracted. And now, a new batch of oil just under the Bakken is adding even more interest to oil exploration in the state. The Bakken Shale Formation has created excitement in western North Dakota - the kind of excitement that leads to things like bumper stickers. But even as oil companies scramble to tap into the Bakken, there's a new oil play brewing - it's called the Three Forks-Sanish...

Rio de Janeiro - More than 180 miles off Brazil's coast, trapped under a few miles of water, rock, and salt, lie billions of barrels of light, sweet crude – the largest discovery of oil in the Western Hemisphere in a generation. Accessing it will require some of the most advanced technology on the planet. But Brazil, once a heavy importer that celebrated its "oil independence" only two years ago, is uniquely positioned to extract reserves trapped millions of years ago when South America and Africa began to separate. The state-controlled oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras), says it will begin...

Energy: Barack Obama says tire inflation would replace all the new oil to be found offshore. How does he know, when he sponsors a bill forbidding us from even finding out how much is there?While House Republicans valiantly fight to increase America's domestic oil supply in a darkened House chamber, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama fights valiantly to keep America in the dark about exactly how much oil is available from new offshore drilling. Obama, who has flip-flopped into alleged acceptance of offshore drilling as part of some grand energy compromise, has in fact been leading a one-man crusade to...

WASHINGTON — A House subcommittee has rejected a Republican-led effort to open up more U.S. coastal waters to oil exploration. Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa., spearheaded the effort. His proposal would open up U.S. waters between 50 and 200 miles off shore for drilling. The first 50 miles off shore would be left alone.

October 23, 2006 Editorial A Reason to Drill in the Gulf It is time to make a serious effort to save the vanishing wetlands and barrier islands along the coast of Louisiana. The best chance is a bill passed by the Senate that would guarantee Louisiana and three other coastal states a share of oil and gas revenues from drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. The states would be expected to use the proceeds largely for coastal restoration and related projects. The House should adopt this measure in its present form during the coming lame-duck session, and President Bush...

Promising new technology detects hydrocarbons down to 20,000 feet A Southern California company has reported completion of a new oil exploration survey using technology that detects natural energy currents created by solar flares and lightning. Ed Johnson, President of the Orange County based company eField Exploration, said that they completed an aerial survey of over 3,100 miles of existing oil and gas fields and other land in Texas using a developing technology which reveals the location of water and oil down to 20,000 feet or more below the surface. This new generation of "Electro-Magnetotelluric" technology is mounted on an airborne...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. Senate have struck a deal with key party members including Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida that would allow the chamber to vote on opening the eastern Gulf of Mexico to energy exploration, Senate aides said on Wednesday. Sen. Pete Domenici, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee, is pressing for a vote this month on a plan that would develop the Outer Continental Shelf off Florida, including a controversial area known as "Lease Sale 181." Domenici and Martinez met with Majority Leader Bill Frist on Tuesday, and have struck a deal that will...

Citing the need for America to achieve energy independence as well as aid poor and minority households already suffering from rising heating bills, activists with the black leadership network Project 21 are speaking out in favor of oil and natural gas exploration efforts under consideration for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) and the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). The U.S. Senate approved legislation on November 9 to allow oil drilling on approximately 2,000 acres - or 0.01 percent - of ANWR's 19.6 million acres. The House of Representatives is expected to consider similar legislation as early as this week. Drilling...

China National Offshore Oil Corporation is considering a nearly $14bn (£7bn, €10.6bn) takeover of Unocal of the US. Sinopec, another Chinese state-controlled oil group, has struck a $70bn deal to buy Iranian crude oil and liquefied natural gas over three decades. China has sent $6bn to Rosneft, the Russian company that bought the main production unit of the embattled Yukos oil group, as advance payment for oil supplies. India has just reached a $40bn agreement to import LNG from Iran and develop Iranian oilfields, and is promoting pipeline projects to bring oil and gas across neighbouring countries to supply its...

TOKYO - In a sign of deepening popular and political animosity between China and Japan, Tokyo took formal possession this week of a tiny archipelago in the Pacific waters south of Japan. In the early morning of Feb. 9, Tokyo informed Beijing's embassy here that the Senkaku Islands would be administered by the Japanese coast guard. The unexpectedly bold action by Tokyo received little attention here. But it is seen as a "serious chess move," says one diplomat, in a region where power relations are being redefined, and where tensions over energy, borders, military buildups, and ethnic rivalries are palpable....

If environmentalists really cared about the environment... - They would welcome drilling in our own hemisphere, because of the decreased risks of accidents during the long transport of oil via seaborne tankers - They would welcome drilling in the ANWR and offshore, because it would be much much more environmentally controlled than oil operations in Russia, Bulgaria and the Middle East ever will be. - They would recognize oil as an environment-saving rather than an environment-destroying resource. Plastics derived for oil replace wood products, soft metals, paper products and other synthetic materials in a wide array of products and are...

#771, Friday, May 24, 2002 TOP STORYLeaders To Sign Energy Accord By Anna Raff STAFF WRITERMOSCOW - In the hours before U.S. President George W. Bush flew into Moscow on Thursday night, U.S. Commerce Secretary Donald Evans laid the ground for closer cooperation between the United States and Russia in the key areas of oil and aviation.Bush and President Vladimir Putin are expected to sign off on an energy agreement during their summit talks Friday that could open the door to Russia becoming an important energy supplier to the U.S. market.Formal bilateral cooperation in oil would be the obvious...