The cost of salvaging Occidental Petroleum’s damaged...

The cost of salvaging Occidental Petroleum’s damaged Piper Alpha platform in the North Sea would be so high that new wells likely would have to be built, London stock brokerage James Capel & Co. reported. In an assessment of the explosion and fire that killed 167 people in July, Capel estimated the Piper field’s June production at 119,460 barrels a day, which represented 6% of total British oil production. But the disaster made it unlikely that production from the Piper field will be resumed for a number of years, the report said. “Salvage of current wells could cost in the region of $516 million to $1.03 billion,” it said. “New wells could add between $34.4 million and $51.6 million for drilling and completion work.”