NEW ORLEANS — NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The explosion of the Deepwater
Horizon oil rig illustrates the energy industry's push to drill
ever deeper in search of huge oil deposits, despite the mammoth
risks and unique challenges associated with exploration in such
a hostile environment. The lure of the deep is driven by
technological advances that make previously inaccessible oil now
reachable, and dwindling supplies at shallower depths due to
years of exploration. High energy prices and lucrative
government incentives have also made it more financially
feasible. "That's where the oil is," said Eric Smith, associate
director of Tulane University's Energy Institute. "You can't
find any oil any cheaper anywhere else." But the work is highly
technical. In mile-deep seas, where BP PLC's Deepwater Horizon
rig was plumbing for oil in an ocean canyon, the work is done in
total darkness and near-freezing temperatures. Water pressure is
enough to crush a submarine, and the explosive methane gas that
likely ignited on the Deepw