Eugene Island

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Eugene Island is a submerged mountain 70-85 miles off the Louisiana coast in the Gulf of Mexico. The nearby oil field Eugene Island 330 is best known for its unusual depletion profile. According to the article "Sustainable Oil?" by Chris Bennett WorldNetDaily.com:

A significant reservoir of crude oil was discovered nearby in the late ’60s, and by 1970, a platform named Eugene 330 was busily producing about 15,000 barrels per day (2,400 m³/d) of high-quality crude oil. By the late ’80s, the platform’s production had slipped to less than 4,000 barrels per day (640 m³/d), and was considered pumped out. Done. Suddenly, in 1990, production soared back to 15,000 barrels per day (2,400 m³/d)

However, the figures given by Richard Heinberg are:

Production from Eugene Island had achieved 20,000 barrels per day (3,200 m³/d) by 1989; by 1992 it had slipped to 15,000 bbl/d (2,400 m³/d), but recovered to reach a peak of 30,000 bbl/d (4,800 m³/d) in 1996. Production from the reservoir has dropped steadily since then.

The source of additional oil was analyzed as migrating through faults from deeper and older formations below. The oil contains biomarkers similar to those in other oils in the area.

Eugene Island 330 is often cited as a key example of Abiogenic petroleum origin theory, which holds that petroleum reservoirs are continuously replenished from inorganic sources deep within the Earth. However, Eugene Island 330's fame comes precisely from its status as an unusual anomaly, rather than being typical of the other 40,000 developed oil fields, and most petroleum scientists believe that the depletion profile is adequately explained by replenishment from deeper reservoirs of normal biologically derived petroleum.

In regard to oil depletion concerns, while the rate went up again in the early 1990s along with the overall estimated recoverable petroleum, the rate has since declined.