Brazil says its deepwater Libra oil field could hold as much as 15 billion barrels of oil, making it the biggest crude oil discovery in the Americas since Mexico discovered the Cantarell field in 1976.

The Libra prospect lies in the Santos Basin about 500 miles off the coast and beneath a layer of salt about 9,800 feet below the ocean surface. ANP, Brazil's national petroleum regulatory agency says the government will retain control of Libra, and at least two Brazil-owned companies will own stakes in the field. Bloomberg/BusinessWeek reports that Petrobras, one of the companies, raised $70 billion last month in the world's largest share sale toward the $224 billion, five-year investment plan, which is said to be the oil industry's largest.

Back in the U.S Gulf of M... more »

On this blog, we strive to provide an informative, timely and fair discussion about a variety of energy-related topics. In the spirit of those ideals, I recently came across another energy discussion forum on Chevron's website--willyoujoinus.com.

Since launching the discussion area in September, willyoujoinus.com is now hosting eight different energy discussion areas that range from access to alternative energy, providing an outlet for everyone to discuss these important issues.

For example, user "jgotthold" offered this information about alternative energy projects to the discussion:

"On almost a daily basis, scientists announce some nanotechnology breakthrough which has the potential to improve fuel cells, hydrogen storage, wind power development, tidal wave development and all the oth... more »

Four major oil companies are joining forces to build and deploy a rapid-response containment system that will be available to capture and collect oil from future blowouts in the Gulf.

The new system will be suitable for use in depths of up to 10,000 feet--twice as deep as the Macondo well--and will have the capacity to contain 100,000 barrels of oil per day with expansion potential.

The four companies, which include Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell, have committed $1 billion to pay for the initial cost of the new system. They also will assemble a dedicated staff to maintain readiness under a new non-profit organization called the Marine Well Containment Company. Other companies will be invited to participate.

"[R]egardless of how unlikely it is that this situation will reoccu... more »

While the response to the Deepwater Horizon accident has focused on BP, it's not the only energy company that is working 24/7 to plug the leaks and manage the spill.

As Chris John, president of the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association observed in the podcast below, many other companies have volunteered to send equipment and personnel to help in the response activities.

The National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) recently compiled a list of companies that have offered to help with response effort. Many API members are included:

• Marathon - Two support vessels; deepwater drilling experts; and ROV hot stab equipment.

• Chevron - Chevron's Venice, La., base for spill response activities; personnel from its Pascagoula refinery to assist the Coast Guard's... more »

Yesterday author, lawyer and blogger Byron King sent me a copy of an article, published in Outstanding Investments newsletter, expressing his thoughts on the tragic loss of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig. Byron writes that the accident "is hitting home" with him. He recently visited a drillship owned by Transocean, which is the same company that owns and operated the rig that caught fire and sank in the Gulf of Mexico. What he learned apparently gave him a profound sense of respect for the crew.

Byron spent a couple of days onboard Transocean's Discoverer Inspiration, which is a mammoth drillship searching the Gulf for oil and natural gas under contract to Chevron. He says he observed a "culture of safety" even before he was allowed on the ship. He was required to "go through two days... more »