The real estate impact of Gulf oil disaster

[Ted Harris]

Article below talks about how the massive leak could muck up housing markets for years ....

"Beyond the actual disruption to sales and hit on housing values in areas affected by the Gulf oil spill, real estate professionals on the Gulf Coast say they will likely face a battle of perception for years to come."

Pretty sad for current homeowners in the affected areas.... I'm guessing for investors it could be an opportunity at some point.

http://www.inman.com/news/2010/06/9/the-real-estate-impact-gulf-oil-disaster?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+inmannews+%28Inman+News+-+Headlines%29

[Jon Holdman]

There are quite a number of natural leaks off the CA coast. Some years ago, some of the oil companies were putting caps over them as an offset to potential pollution.

In the Gulf of Mexico, one of the hazards for offshore drilling is "shallow gas". That's natural gas that's slow leaking up through the sediment. It can collect in pockets and create a problem is you set a platform over it or if you drill into it.

I've heard that there are large man made leaks off the Nigerian coast.

Some of the oil from this leak has been set on fire.

The Gulf of Mexico is well away from any tectonic plate edges. Its a VERY old basin, and has very deep sedimentary layers, something like 30,000 feet. Total depth on the BP well is about 17,000 feet below sea level, or about 12,000 feet below the ocean floor. That's a deep well in every sense of the term.

That oil may end up circulating around the gulf and may yet end up on the Texas coast. I lived in Texas for many years (and worked for Big Oil). Went to Crystal Beach many times and owned a small house near Blessing, not far from Palacios, down the coast from Galveston.