Yes, OSD has been in the toilet from 2014 - no argument on that....

Yes, OSD has been in the toilet from 2014 - no argument on that. But for a resource potential of this size in shallow water it has to be more that IMO

"The offshore sector, which accounts for almost a third of crude oil production and is a crucial component of future global supplies, has been particularly hard hit by the industry’s slowdown. In 2016, only 13% of all conventional resources sanctioned were offshore, compared with more than 40% on average between 2000 and 2015."

Here are the discoveries over time



Fair bit of money spent on Brazilian offshore blocks - more than $1.2B when it was expected to fetch just $157M.

"The 287 blocks auctioned are just the first portion of a number of deposits that hold an estimated 10 billion barrels of crude in proven reserves. No wonder, then, that as many as 30 companies took part in the bidding round—the first of a total nine rounds, to take place between now and 2019."

Its a journalist writing http://www.*.com/the-next-big-offshore-oil-boom-will-be-in-south-america-2017-10?IR=T
so I'm a little questionable on the 10 Billion Barrels of proven reserves and if you click on the link in the article it says

"Wednesday's auction is the first of nine bidding rounds planned through 2019 for areas that could hold roughly 10 billion barrels of recoverable oil, or enough to supply the U.S. for almost a year and a half. "

Big difference between "recoverable oil" and proven reserves.

My point though is $100M's being spent for exploration blocks for 10B Bbls of recoverable oil and STO looks to be getting a bite at 40% of a 2B Bbl of P10 Gross recoverable for a mere $12.5M.

Can that be right? Or is the prospect difficult as Ya has pointed out.