A test of new oil reserves in the Gulf of Mexico has struck paydirt, with Chevron and other companies announcing the discovery of new fields that could yield between 3 and 15 billion barrels of new recoverable oil.

“Peak Oil” detractors should not be too quick to rejoice. While the find is the largest in the US in a generation, it is still nowhere near the size of oil fields in the Middle East. It is not a long-term solution to our energy problems, although it will lessen our foreign dependence and perhaps depress prices a bit for a while (but it will take six years for these companies to ramp up to produce sizable amounts of oil.) Nor does the field make up for the complete lack of substantial new oil finds in the last several years to compensate for skyrocketing demand. That this find is more than 27,000 feet below the water’s surface shows just how desperate the oil companies are to keep up with demand.

It is at best a band-aid, not a cure–and we would be foolish to treat it otherwise. Our resolution to break our dependence on foreign oil and exploit alternative renewable sources of energy must not waver.

Tags: alternative-energy, chevron, gulf-of-mexico, peak-oil, petroleum