Going Deep

摘要

On notoriously violent patch of the Atlantic Ocean northof Scotland and 100 miles west of the Shetland Islands, where winds howl at 50 miles per hour and waves can run 100 feet high, a brutish red vessel rolls in a mounting breeze.The ship,named the Schiehallion after a mountain on the Scottish coast,is the only visible sign of what lies 1,200 feet below:a 500-million-barrel oilfield that a BP Amoco has discovered and developed. Equipped with a turntable mechanism at its bow,the floating production platform can swivel a full 360 degrees in treacherous winds while pumping more than 100,000 barrels of oil a day. At current prices Schiehallion is dropping $1 billion a year into BP's bank account.