Offshore oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico
Encyclopedia
Offshore oil and gas in the US Gulf of Mexico is a major source of oil and natural gas in the United States
. The western and central Gulf of Mexico
, which includes offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, is one of the major petroleum-producing areas of the United States. In 2007, federal leases in the western and central Gulf of Mexico produced 25% of the nation's oil and 14% of the nation's natural gas.
Major fields include Eugene Island block 330 oil field, Atlantis Oil Field
, and the Tiber oilfield
(discovered 2009). Notable oil platforms include Baldpate
, Bullwinkle
, Mad Dog
, Magnolia, Mars, Petronius, and Thunder Horse. Notable individual wells include Jack 2
and Knotty Head
.
As technology has progressed over the years, oil companies have extended drilling and production farther and farther from shore, and into deeper and deeper waters. Production from water depths greater than 1000 feet (304.8 m) began in 1979; currently, 72% of oil production in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico comes from wells drilled in water depths of 1000 feet (304.8 m) or greater. Sixty-five discoveries have been made in water depths greater than 5000 feet (1,524 m). The deepest water depth in which a discovery has been made is 9975 feet (3,040.4 m).
The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995. In March 2010, US President Barack Obama
announced plans to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf, in federal waters greater than 125 miles (201.2 km) from the coasts of Alabama and Florida. The Obama administration reversed its plans to open the eastern Gulf after the Macondo blow out later that year.
issued its first offshore oil and gas lease in 1936, and the following year the Pure Oil Company discovered the first Louisiana offshore oil field, the Creole Field, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the shore of Cameron Parish
, from a platform built on timber pilings in 10 to 15 ft (3 to 4.6 m) water.
was drilled in 1938, but the first oil discovery was not made until 1941, off of Jefferson County
. Through 2007, Texas state waters have produced 39 Moilbbl of oil and 4 Tcuft. In 2007, Texas state waters produced 600000 barrels (95,392,377 l) of oil and condensate and 26 Gcuft gas.
was made in Mobile Bay in 1951. The first discovery in state waters of offshore Alabama was made in 1979. By 2005 a total of 80 wells have been drilled in state water, and production in Alabama state water provided 154 Gcuft per year, half the state's gas production.
, has never been a petroleum-producing area. From the 1950s to the 1990s, oil companies drilled exploratory wells off the Gulf Coast of Florida. Nineteen wells were drilled in state waters, and forty were drilled in federal waters.
Gulf Oil
drilled the first offshore Florida oil exploration wells in 1947, in state waters in Florida Bay
south of Cape Sable
, Monroe County
. In 1956 Humble Oil
drilled an exploratory well in state waters of Pensacola Bay
, Santa Rosa County
. In 1959 Gulf Oil drilled the first offshore Florida well drilled from an offshore platform, off the Florida Keys
. All the wells drilled in state waters were dry holes.
The first federal lease sale offshore Florida was in 1959. In the 1980s the state of Florida objected to further federal lease sales in offshore Florida, and the last one was held in 1985. Because of state objections, the federal government agreed to pay $200 million to nine oil companies to buy back leases south of 26 degrees north latitude.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, oil companies drilled 16 wells on and around the Destin Dome, in federal waters off the Florida Panhandle
; none were successful. Then from 1987 to 1995 Chevron
made commercial gas discoveries on the Destin Dome 25 miles (40.2 km) off the coast. The discovery extended the Norphlet productive trend, which is highly productive in Alabama state waters in Mobile Bay
. However, the state of Florida objected to plans to produce the deposits, and in May 2002, the US government agreed to buy back 7 leases from Chevron, Conoco, and Murphy Oil for $115 million.
In 1947, the state of Florida issued a long-term oil and gas lease for state waters in the Gulf, stretching from Apalachicola Bay
in the north to Naples
in the south. The lease, which now belongs to Coastal Petroleum, was renegotiated in 1975 to leave Coastal with partial rights from 0–7.4 mi (0–11.9 ) from the shore, and full rights to state waters from 7.4–10.4 mi (11.9–16.7 ) from the shore. Florida has since banned offshore drilling in state waters, and has a long-running legal dispute with Coastal over Coastal's efforts to drill the offshore lease.
Florida banned drilling in state waters in 1992, and has also opposed additional drilling in federal waters off Florida. However, in April 2009 three committees of the Florida House of Representatives approved a bill that would allow offshore drilling in state waters more than 3 miles (4.8 km) from shore. Because state waters extend only 3 miles (4.8 km) from shore on the east coast of Florida, the legislation would have affected only state waters on the Gulf coast of the state, where state waters extend out to 10.5 smi from shore. The bill passed the Florida House in April 2009, but died soon after in the Florida Senate.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The western and central Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
, which includes offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, is one of the major petroleum-producing areas of the United States. In 2007, federal leases in the western and central Gulf of Mexico produced 25% of the nation's oil and 14% of the nation's natural gas.
Atlantis Oil Field
The Atlantis oil field is the third largest oil field in the Gulf of Mexico. The field was discovered in 1998 and is located at the Green Canyon blocks 699, 700, 742, 743, and 744 in United States federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico about from the coast of Louisiana...
, and the Tiber oilfield
Tiber oilfield
The Tiber Oil Field is a deepwater offshore oil field located in the Keathley Canyon block 102 of the United States sector of the Gulf of Mexico. The deepwater field was discovered in September 2009 and it is operated by BP. Described as a "giant" find, it is estimated to contain of oil in place...
(discovered 2009). Notable oil platforms include Baldpate
Baldpate (oil platform)
Baldpate is a 1901.9 feet tall offshore compliant tower oil platform near the coast of Louisiana. Baldpate Platform was designed by Hudson Engineering in Houston, Texas, and installed by Heerema Marine Contractors.-External links:* *...
, Bullwinkle
Bullwinkle (oil platform)
Bullwinkle is a tall oil platform in Gulf of Mexico. From Bullwinkle Platform are below the waterline. It is located in Manatee Field, approximately southwest of New Orleans. Bullwinkle Platform belongs to Superior Energy Services, Inc., and Dynamic Offshore Resources. Its construction took...
, Mad Dog
Mad Dog (oil platform)
Mad Dog is the name of a SPAR oil platform operated by BP in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana. It became operational in 2005, and is one of a new breed of oil drilling platforms that tap oil reserves deep beneath offshore waters....
, Magnolia, Mars, Petronius, and Thunder Horse. Notable individual wells include Jack 2
Jack 2
Jack 2 is a test well in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico that successfully extracted oil from the lower Tertiary area of the Gulf in the second quarter of 2006. The field owners Chevron, Devon Energy and Norway's Statoil drilled to about below the sea floor, the wellhead being below...
and Knotty Head
Knotty Head
Knotty Head was at one point the deepest oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. It is drilled in of water and below the sea floor. It is jointly owned by Chevron, Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, BHP Billiton and Nexen Inc. with each having 25% of the share...
.
As technology has progressed over the years, oil companies have extended drilling and production farther and farther from shore, and into deeper and deeper waters. Production from water depths greater than 1000 feet (304.8 m) began in 1979; currently, 72% of oil production in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico comes from wells drilled in water depths of 1000 feet (304.8 m) or greater. Sixty-five discoveries have been made in water depths greater than 5000 feet (1,524 m). The deepest water depth in which a discovery has been made is 9975 feet (3,040.4 m).
The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995. In March 2010, US President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
announced plans to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf, in federal waters greater than 125 miles (201.2 km) from the coasts of Alabama and Florida. The Obama administration reversed its plans to open the eastern Gulf after the Macondo blow out later that year.
Production
In 2008, federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico produced 418 Moilbbl of oil, down from 568 Moilbbl in 2002; however, due to new deep-water discoveries, the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement projects that oil production from the Gulf of Mexico will increase to 686 Moilbbl per year by 2013.Louisiana
The state of LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
issued its first offshore oil and gas lease in 1936, and the following year the Pure Oil Company discovered the first Louisiana offshore oil field, the Creole Field, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the shore of Cameron Parish
Cameron Parish, Louisiana
Cameron Parish is the parish with the most land area in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish seat is Cameron and as of 2010, the population was 6,839...
, from a platform built on timber pilings in 10 to 15 ft (3 to 4.6 m) water.
Texas
The first offshore well in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
was drilled in 1938, but the first oil discovery was not made until 1941, off of Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Texas
Jefferson County is a county located in the state of Texas, United States. As of 2000, the population was 252,051. Its county seat is Beaumont, and it is named for the former U.S...
. Through 2007, Texas state waters have produced 39 Moilbbl of oil and 4 Tcuft. In 2007, Texas state waters produced 600000 barrels (95,392,377 l) of oil and condensate and 26 Gcuft gas.
Alabama
The first oil test in offshore AlabamaAlabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
was made in Mobile Bay in 1951. The first discovery in state waters of offshore Alabama was made in 1979. By 2005 a total of 80 wells have been drilled in state water, and production in Alabama state water provided 154 Gcuft per year, half the state's gas production.
Florida
The eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Gulf Coast FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, has never been a petroleum-producing area. From the 1950s to the 1990s, oil companies drilled exploratory wells off the Gulf Coast of Florida. Nineteen wells were drilled in state waters, and forty were drilled in federal waters.
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil
Gulf Oil was a major global oil company from the 1900s to the 1980s. The eighth-largest American manufacturing company in 1941 and the ninth-largest in 1979, Gulf Oil was one of the so-called Seven Sisters oil companies...
drilled the first offshore Florida oil exploration wells in 1947, in state waters in Florida Bay
Florida Bay
Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys. Its area is variously stated to be , or , or . Nearly all of Florida Bay is included in Everglades National Park. The southern edge, along the Florida Keys is in the Florida Keys National Marine...
south of Cape Sable
Cape Sable
Cape Sable, Florida is the southernmost point of the US mainland and mainland Florida. It is located in southwestern Florida, in Monroe County, and is part of the Everglades National Park. The cape is a peninsula issuing from the southeastern part of the Florida mainland, running west and curving...
, Monroe County
Monroe County, Florida
Monroe County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 79,589. The U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for the county was 74,737....
. In 1956 Humble Oil
Humble Oil
Humble Oil and Refining Co. was founded in 1911. The company would later consolidate with Standard Oil of New Jersey to become Exxon.-Early history:...
drilled an exploratory well in state waters of Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay
Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle.The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacola, Florida, and is about 13 miles long and 2.5 miles ...
, Santa Rosa County
Santa Rosa County, Florida
Santa Rosa County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, the population was 117,743, while a July 1, 2005, estimate placed the population at 143,105, an 18% increase making it the 84th fastest growing county in the United States between 2000 and 2005. ...
. In 1959 Gulf Oil drilled the first offshore Florida well drilled from an offshore platform, off the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. All the wells drilled in state waters were dry holes.
The first federal lease sale offshore Florida was in 1959. In the 1980s the state of Florida objected to further federal lease sales in offshore Florida, and the last one was held in 1985. Because of state objections, the federal government agreed to pay $200 million to nine oil companies to buy back leases south of 26 degrees north latitude.
In the 1970s and early 1980s, oil companies drilled 16 wells on and around the Destin Dome, in federal waters off the Florida Panhandle
Florida Panhandle
The Florida Panhandle, an informal, unofficial term for the northwestern part of Florida, is a strip of land roughly 200 miles long and 50 to 100 miles wide , lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia also on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is...
; none were successful. Then from 1987 to 1995 Chevron
Chevron Corporation
Chevron Corporation is an American multinational energy corporation headquartered in San Ramon, California, United States and active in more than 180 countries. It is engaged in every aspect of the oil, gas, and geothermal energy industries, including exploration and production; refining,...
made commercial gas discoveries on the Destin Dome 25 miles (40.2 km) off the coast. The discovery extended the Norphlet productive trend, which is highly productive in Alabama state waters in Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
. However, the state of Florida objected to plans to produce the deposits, and in May 2002, the US government agreed to buy back 7 leases from Chevron, Conoco, and Murphy Oil for $115 million.
In 1947, the state of Florida issued a long-term oil and gas lease for state waters in the Gulf, stretching from Apalachicola Bay
Apalachicola Bay
Apalachicola Bay is an estuary and lagoon located on Florida's northwest coast renowned for its oysters. The Apalachicola Bay system also includes St. Georges Sound, St. Vincent Sound and East Bay, covering an area of about . Four islands St. Vincent Island to the west, Cape St. George Island and St...
in the north to Naples
Naples, Florida
Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population at 21,653. Naples is a principal city of the Naples–Marco Island Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated total population of 315,839 on July 1, 2007...
in the south. The lease, which now belongs to Coastal Petroleum, was renegotiated in 1975 to leave Coastal with partial rights from 0–7.4 mi (0–11.9 ) from the shore, and full rights to state waters from 7.4–10.4 mi (11.9–16.7 ) from the shore. Florida has since banned offshore drilling in state waters, and has a long-running legal dispute with Coastal over Coastal's efforts to drill the offshore lease.
Florida banned drilling in state waters in 1992, and has also opposed additional drilling in federal waters off Florida. However, in April 2009 three committees of the Florida House of Representatives approved a bill that would allow offshore drilling in state waters more than 3 miles (4.8 km) from shore. Because state waters extend only 3 miles (4.8 km) from shore on the east coast of Florida, the legislation would have affected only state waters on the Gulf coast of the state, where state waters extend out to 10.5 smi from shore. The bill passed the Florida House in April 2009, but died soon after in the Florida Senate.
Natural gas hydrates
Natural Gas Hydrates have long been known to exist in sediments beneath the Gulf of Mexico. In May 2009 the US Geological Survey announced the discovery of thick natural gas hydrate deposits beneath the Gulf of Mexico that are recoverable by current technology. To date, natural gas from hydrates has not been produced from the Gulf of Mexico.See also
- Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion
- Offshore oil and gas in the United StatesOffshore oil and gas in the United StatesOffshore oil and gas in the United States provides a large portion of the nation’s oil and gas supply. Large oil and gas reservoirs are found in the sea nearby Louisiana, Texas, California, and Alaska...
- Off shore oil drilling
- Oil platformOil platformAn oil platform, also referred to as an offshore platform or, somewhat incorrectly, oil rig, is a lаrge structure with facilities to drill wells, to extract and process oil and natural gas, and to temporarily store product until it can be brought to shore for refining and marketing...
- Rigs-to-ReefsRigs-to-ReefsRigs-to-Reefs is a nationwide program developed by the Minerals Management Service of the U.S. Department of the Interior to turn decommissioned offshore oil and petroleum rigs into artificial reefs.-Overview:...
- US offshore drilling debate
External links
- Map of wells drilled in federal waters, Gulf of Mexico
- Christopher D. French and Christopher J. Schenk, (1997) Map Showing Geology, Oil and Gas Fields, and Geologic Provinces of the Gulf of Mexico Region, US Geological Survey, Open-File Report OFR 97-470-L, PDF file, downloaded 24 January 2010.
- Minerals Management Service, Map of active lease and infrastructure, PDF file.
- map of oil and gas infrastructure in the GOM
- Bureau of ocean management website