BP drills 'giant' oil well
The Tiber, southeast of Houston, is one of the deepest wells ever drilled, energy company says. Crude futures hold steady after inventory data.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- BP has drilled one of the deepest oil reservoirs ever discovered, the company said Wednesday.
The Tiber well, located about 250 miles southeast of Houston in the Gulf of Mexico, was drilled about 35,055 feet deep, BP (BP) said. The energy giant is the largest producer of oil and gas in the Gulf, at 400,000 barrels per day.
Further evaluation is needed in order to determine the value of the well, BP said.
The well is BP's second significant discovery in the so-called "lower tertiary" area in the Gulf of Mexico, and it found oil in multiple reservoirs, said Andy Inglis, a BP chief executive, in a written statement.
"These material discoveries together with our industry leading acreage position support the continuing growth of our deepwater Gulf of Mexico business into the second half of the next decade," Inglis said.
Tiber is operated by BP in partnership with co-owners Petrobras (PBR) and ConocoPhillips (COP, Fortune 500).
Oil prices: Crude prices were unchanged Wednesday after an inventory report said supplies fell far less than expected.
Oil settled exactly where it opened, at $68.05 a barrel.
In its weekly inventory report, the Energy Information Administration said oil stockpiles fell by 400,000. Analysts expected oil stocks to fall by 1.9 million barrels.
The report underscored data from Tuesday, when the American Petroleum Institute said crude stockpiles fell by 3.19 million barrels last week.