'Tight Holes Are Kept Tight,' Chevron Figure Says

A Chevron employee who will remain anonymous responded today to our questions about its Block 1 discovery with a statement that is reminiscent of comments by one oil company in the 1980's regarding a big North Sea find: "It's a competitive business."

As you know this is a competitive business and tight holes are kept tight ... Remember Chevron's North Slope well in Alaska near ANWAR in the 1980's? I think aspects of that well are still tight.

Judging by that, investors who are waiting for a blockbuster announcement from Chevron about the find may be disappointed. The company has little obligation to share its good news with anyone else, and certainly not with competing oil firms.

Indeed, the best that we can hope for may be an announcement from the Nigerian side of the Nigeria-Sao Tome and Principe Joint Development Authority, which does tend to leak but only very rarely leaks accurate information.