Thanks for clearing up my foggy thinking. I think I've got it now, my mindset just needed reorientation.

Like a pinacle reef on a grand scale. The offshore environment means high development cost per well. Wells drilled well off the structural high would produce a lot of oil initially but are unnecessary because the reservoir is extremely porous and permiable so that a limited number of wells can adequately drain the structure. There aren't going to be any other entities producing from the structure so there is no rush to produce before someone else gets the oil. Thanks again.