Is there anyone out there who knows the normal time between production test and announcement of same?  

I recognize that I'm suggesting that the timing of the announcement was delayed in order to maximixe the political impact.  This may not have been the case.  Either way, the facts of the so-called 'discovery' this year belie the claimed significance of the find.

A real problem lies with lazy journalism and concentration of media ownership.

Most Americans are totally unaware of the enormous scale of deepwater 'desperation exploration' ongoing throughout the world.

http://www.rigzone.com/news/article.asp?a_id=36156

Did the conversions: 2,400 meters of seawater = 7,874 feet, 7200 meters of drill depth = 23,622 ft or 4.47 miles.  The  hopeful potential of 6-8 billion barrels is approx 1/2 of the optimistic potential of the 15 billion barrels of Jack. Ideal working conditions in the GoM vs the cold, wet weather off Newfoundland.  My guess is that if icebergs come down this far: tugboats  will have to lasso them, then drag them away to prevent a berg from hitting any platforms.

Consider the Hibernia platform:
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The Hibernia platform is located off Canada's east coast, on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Hibernia is recognized as one of the most significant artic offshore developments.  It serves as a study in oil exploration and production under extreme conditions. Hibernia is the only platform in the world designed to withstand the direct impact from an iceberg.
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Famous last words? Consider this really close call:
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But one day in the 1980s, a complacent observer on a now-defunct floating rig somehow let an iceberg get to within five or six miles of the rig. Typically, bergs move at a clip of about one knot.

There was a mad scramble, Baker says. The weather was too rough to tow the iceberg. Three of the deckhands on one boat and two on another were washed around the deck and got hurt. The only option left was to try to pull the rig's eight massive anchors up and move the rig out of danger. But one of the anchor chains on the rig got tangled; there was no question of breaking free. It was far too late to deploy helicopters or use rig-to-ship baskets to evacuate the crew on the rig.

The guys on the rig were watching to see which way the berg was going, Baker says. At the last minute, the supply boats managed to pull the rig 100 meters sideways. The berg came straight over the wellhead where the rig had just been. That was the closest call. In times like those, says Baker, your heart rate starts going up and you hit maximum blood pressure. There are so many things that can go wrong.
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Consider the ERoEI of this Hibernia project with cool photos: PDF warning.

If the MSM actually reported on the many deepwater efforts it would scare the people.  Most sheeple act & think like all that is required is to just poke a hole in the ground safely onshore with a dinky rig and then petroleum products ready to use come gushing out of the ground.

Bob Shaw in Phx,Az  Are Humans Smarter than Yeast?

http://www.corrosionsource.com/CS2000/session04/paper0402/paper0402.htm

But basically, money cures all problems. If you have enough money, then you can do most anything until the value of the resource falls to: at, near or below the value of the money you wish to invest / risk.

I understand that Thunderhorse is subject to some corrosion problems as we speak.

Deep sea (High pressure solubility) corrosion should not really come as a surprise. The Titanic and the Bismark are disolving, the passengers and crew that made it to the bottom have already disolved. Ceramics do quite well though.

As with all things, Thunderhorse, Jack, etc. They are affected by the theory of diminishing returns. Some call it a law. Once you get beyond peak, you spend more and more money* chasing less and less value. It doesnt have to be oil. It could be a copper or gold mine; it could be the North Atlantic Sperm Whale population, it could be the Cod population in the North Sea or Grand Banks.

*Money is just another way of representing energy.