Louisiana man drilling for oil in his 'front yard'

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil prices are so high, that oilman Steve Jordan is drilling a well next to his home near Lake Charles, Louisiana, he said on Wednesday.

Jordan, 52, said the well will stretch 8,500 feet (2,591 metres) under his house and swimming pool and below the adjacent Calcasieu River.

He hopes to strike oil in about 10 days on a prospect that wouldn't have been worth drilling when prices were lower, he said.

"I'm not trying to prove anything," Jordan said in a telephone interview. "I'm trying to make money."

It will cost about $2 million to drill the well.