Offshore Oil Drilling: Farther out, deeper, more pressure and othr dangers...

From VOA News , some coverage of the Offshore Technology Conference:

Halliburton's Director of Strategic Marketing Eric Johnson says there is little expectation of making major new oil or gas discoveries on land now, so the real action is offshore. "We know that about 70 percent of the known reserves are already locked up in fields that are 30 years old or older. That is what we call mature assets. The exploration that is taking place around the world is primarily taking place in offshore areas."

Eric Johnson says companies are now making major investments in deepwater drilling--going down 3,000 meters below the surface in many cases before reaching the bedrock into which they drill. He describes the process, "As you go deeper into the offshore area, you are dealing with much higher pressure, you are also dealing with higher temperature down in the hole and the enormous pressure on the well itself down-hole in a deepwater situation is terrific."

To make matters worse, the farther platforms are from shore, the more dangers they face from pirates or terrorists.

I'm not sure about the last sentence, since I tend to think the more isolated the platform, the more risk it might face...and maybe that's what was meant.

Anyone ever hear of pirates attacking an offshore drilling rig? Please let me know...