BP (NYSE: BP) has a new weapon to fight dwindling reserves.
Their new super computer can make 2.2 QUADRILLION calculations in one second. With it’s help, the company has been able to increase production with more accurate mapping of oil reservoirs.
On Monday they acknowledged the role technology will play in future oil production…
BP’s head of technology and research announced that most of the oil and gas reserves for the future won’t come from the discovery of new fields. This wasn’t meant to cause dismay or panic however.
He added that, because of the limits of existing technology, the industry will leave more than half of the oil it discovers in the ground. That discrepancy leaves a lot of room to grow for oil companies once the technology improves.
Developments like their supercomputer help, but with most of the world’s oil still locked deep in the ground or underwater, companies still have a long way to go.
That’s where groups like Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) and Baker Hughes (NYSE: BHI) come in. They supply drillers with hydraulic fracturing chemicals, and will look to benefit from any new possibilities or breakthroughs that could boost production and the bottom line.
I’ve long said that improving drilling technology will ultimately drive the North American oil and gas boom for decades to come. Nowhere else are companies like BP making bigger strides than in the ultra-deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico… and the trick to these Gulf Coast profits may even surprise the most veteran investors.
