In what may be the ultimate do-it-yourself home project, a Louisiana man has begun drilling a well next to his home in the hopes of striking oil.

Steve Jordan, 52, said the well will extend across his 25.5-hectare lot, and will run 2,590 metres under his house and swimming pool and below the neighbouring Calacasieu River.

"I'm not trying to prove anything," Jordan told Reuters. "I'm trying to make money."

Jordan is spending about $2 million on the drilling project and aims to collect 200,000 to 300,000 barrels of oil. In an earlier attempt, Jordan spent $900,000 US on a hole that yielded about 130 barrels before drying up.

But still, Jordan told the news agency he was undeterred and said projects like his curb American dependence on foreign oil-producing countries.