That very interesting dance in the Baltimore Canyon

Journal Article · Mon Sep 11 00:00:00 EDT 1978 · Fortune; (United States)

OSTI ID:6522365

Stuart, A

Pointing out that offshore oil and gas has been a marginal proposition until now--the only consistent moneymaker being the Federal government as leaser--it is hard to understand the feverish spasms that have swept the stock market for months, at the slightest hint of a discovery in Baltimore Canyon. Despite the dismal returns vs. risks up to the present, most of the oil industry believes it must continue offshore if it wants to stay in the oil and gas business. Most of these oil men widely share the belief that most of the large fields that remain to be discovered are in frontier areas of the continential shelf; and one ''big elephant'' discovered can easily erase a string of losses. Still another reason to keep playing is an astonishing advance in exploration technology known as ''bright spots''. Finally, oil men are lured into the offshore arena by a subtle mixture of perceived necessity, an innate if somewhat battered spirit of optimism, and an unabashed fascination with the game itself--the latter, little understood outside the industry according to Dick Palmer, Texaco's top exploration man, but ''a very interesting dance''.

• OSTI ID: 6522365
• Journal Information: Fortune; (United States), Vol. 98:5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
POLICY AND ECONOMY
02 PETROLEUM
03 NATURAL GAS
NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY
OFFSHORE OPERATIONS
PETROLEUM INDUSTRY
ATLANTIC OCEAN
ECONOMICS
EXPLORATION
LEASING
OFFSHORE DRILLING
DRILLING
INDUSTRY
SEAS
SURFACE WATERS
294002* - Energy Planning & Policy- Petroleum
294003 - Energy Planning & Policy- Natural Gas
020200 - Petroleum- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration
030200 - Natural Gas- Reserves
Geology
& Exploration