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The
NewsRoom
Release: #3497
Date: May 2, 2006
Deepwater Frontier Is Focus of New Gulf of Mexico Report
New Orleans – The MMS Gulf of Mexico Regional
Director Chris Oynes today announced that the latest edition of a
biennial report
Deepwater Gulf of Mexico 2006: America’s Expanding Frontier
(OCS
Report MMS 2006-022) as been released by the Minerals
Management Service (MMS). He made the announcement at the Offshore
Technology Conference in Houston. The report chronicles the
activities of the oil and gas industry in the deepwater (1,000 ft of
water or more) Gulf over the past fourteen years.
“Exploration and development within the deepwater
Gulf of Mexico continue to expand,” said Oynes, citing as evidence
the 118 deepwater projects on production as of March 2006.
Production from the deepwater frontier grew to an estimated 953,000
barrels of oil per day and 3.9 billion cubic feet of natural gas per
day by the end of 2004. Deepwater oil production accounted for
approximately 65 percent of the Gulf’s oil production in 2004.
One of the exploration highlights of 2005 was the
drilling of the Knotty Head discovery to a measured depth of 34,189
ft (10,423 m), the deepest well in the Gulf of Mexico. “In recent
years, we have seen great strides made by nonmajors in exploring the
deepwater Gulf of Mexico,” Oynes noted. “Indeed, seven of the ten
industry-announced discoveries of 2005 were made by nonmajors.”
Significant activity occurred in several frontier trends in the
deepwater in the last two years. Four announced discoveries were
made in Paleogene reservoirs in Walker Ridge and Alaminos Canyon,
and another four discoveries were made in the Eastern Gulf of
Mexico.
Several important milestones occurred in deepwater
development within the last two years. The installation of the
deepest tension-leg platform (TLP) in the world at Magnolia (Green
Canyon Block 783) in 4,674 ft (1,425 m) of water and the
installation of the first cell spar at Red Hawk are key highlights.
Copies of this new report can be obtained from
MMS, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, free of charge, either in paper or
on a single compact disc, by visiting the Public Information Office
at Regional headquarters, 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd., New Orleans,
Louisiana 70123, or by telephoning 1-800-200-GULF or (504) 736-2519
local. Ask for OCS Report MMS 2006-022, Deepwater Gulf of Mexico
2006: America’s Expanding Frontier. The entire report, in Adobe's
PDF format, can be found on the
MMS website.
Relevant Web
Sites:
MMS Main Website
Gulf of Mexico Website
Media Contacts:
Caryl Fagot
(504) 736-2590
Debra Winbush (504) 736-2597
MMS: Securing Ocean Energy & Economic Value for
America
U.S. Department of the Interior
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