Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico ( United States ) - Wikipedia Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico ( United States ) Offshore oil and gas in the 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. According to the Energy Information Administration, `` Gulf of Mexico federal offshore oil production accounts for 17 % of total U.S. crude oil production and federal offshore natural gas production in the Gulf accounts for 5 % of total U.S. dry production. Over 45 % of total U.S. petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf coast, as well as 51 % of total U.S. natural gas processing plant capacity. '' 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. Contents 1 History of Gulf oil production 1.1 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill 2 Production 3 Louisiana 4 Texas 5 Alabama 6 Florida 7 Natural gas hydrates 8 See also 9 References 10 External links History of Gulf oil production 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. In 1937 Superior Oil of California and Pure Oil constructed a platform just over a mile from the shore at a depth of 13 feet. A year later, Humble Oil built a mile - long wooden trestle with railway tracks into the sea at McFadden Beach on the Gulf of Mexico, placing a derrick at its end - this was later destroyed by a hurricane. A platform was installed in a hundred feet of water for the first time in 1955 ; in two hundred feet of water in 1962 ; and in a thousand feet of water in 1979. `` By 1970, the technology existed to drill in 2,000 feet of water and actual exploratory drilling was taking place at 1,400 feet. '' By 2009, more than 70 % of Gulf of Mexico oil production came from wells drilled in depths greater than 1,000 feet ( 300 m ), almost double from the percentage ten years ago. The deepest water depth in which a discovery has been made is 9,975 feet ( 3,040 m ), at Lloyd Ridge 370 ( Diamond ). 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, President Barack Obama announced plans to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, in federal waters greater than 125 miles ( 201 km ) from the coasts of Alabama and Florida. In December 2010, following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Obama administration reversed its plans to open the eastern Gulf, and imposed a moratorium on new drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least seven years. Deepwater Horizon oil spill Main article : Deepwater Horizon oil spill The Deepwater Horizon oil spill ( also referred to as the BP oil spill, the BP oil disaster, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, and the Macondo blowout ) began on April 20, 2010, in the Gulf of Mexico on the BP - operated Macondo Prospect. Killing eleven people, it is considered the largest marine oil spill in the history of the petroleum industry and estimated to be 8 % to 31 % larger in volume than the previous largest, the Ixtoc I oil spill. Production Oil production in the US Federal zone, offshore Gulf of Mexico This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. ( June 2016 ) In 2012, federal leases in the Gulf of Mexico produced 463 million barrels ( 73.6 × 10 ^ m ) of oil, which made up 19.5 % of all U.S. oil production that year, and more than that of any U.S. state other than Texas. The 2012 production was less than the 570 million barrels ( 91 × 10 ^ m ) in 2009 ; however, due to new deep - water discoveries, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement projects that oil production from the Gulf of Mexico will increase to 686 million barrels ( 109.1 × 10 ^ m ) per year by 2013. Louisiana A mobile drilling platform in federal water offshore Louisiana, 1957 The state of Louisiana 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 - foot - deep ( 3.0 to 4.6 m ) water. Today, there are more than 4,000 production platforms and drilling rigs off the coast of Louisiana. Texas The first offshore well in Texas 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 million barrels ( 6.2 × 10 ^ m ) of oil and 4.0 trillion cubic feet ( 110 km ). In 2007, Texas state waters produced 600,000 barrels ( 95,000 m ) of oil and condensate and 26 billion cubic feet ( 0.74 km ) gas. Alabama The first oil test in offshore Alabama 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 billion cubic feet ( 4.4 km ) per year, half the state 's gas production. Florida The eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Gulf Coast Florida, 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 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 miles ( 0.0 -- 11.9 km ) from the shore, and full rights to state waters from 7.4 -- 10.4 miles ( 11.9 -- 16.7 km ) 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 statute miles ( 16.9 km ) 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 explosion Deepwater Horizon oil spill Offshore oil and gas in the United States Offshore drilling Oil platform Rigs - to - Reefs United States offshore drilling debate References Jump up ^ Gulf of Mexico Fact Sheet, Energy Information Administration. Jump up ^ Morton, Michael Quentin ( June 2016 ). `` Beyond Sight of Land : A History of Oil Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico ''. GeoExpro. 30 ( 3 ) : 60 -- 63. Retrieved 8 November 2016. Jump up ^ Michael D. Max, Arthur H. Johnson & William P. Dillon, Economic Geology of Natural Gas Hydrate, Vol. 9 ( Spring, 2006 ), p. 28. Jump up ^ John A. Duff, U.S. Ratifies Maritime Boundary Treaty with Mexico, Mississippi - Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program, Water Log 17.4. Jump up ^ Lars Herbst, New Batch of Discoveries in Deep Water Keeping Gulf At Forefront Of U.S. Production, American Oil & Gas Reporter, April 2009. Jump up ^ OCS Planning Areas of the Continental United States Depicting Sales Proposed for the 5 Year Program 2007 - 2012, fig. 5. Jump up ^ John M. Broder, Obama Oil Drilling Plan Draws Critics, New York Times ( March 31, 2010 ). Jump up ^ Obama bans eastern Gulf drilling for 7 years, CNN ( December 1, 2010 ). Jump up ^ Robertson, Campbell ; Krauss, Clifford ( 2 August 2010 ). `` Gulf Spill Is the Largest of Its Kind, Scientists Say ''. The New York Times. Retrieved 12 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` BP leak the world 's worst accidental oil spill ''. The Daily Telegraph. London. 3 August 2010. Retrieved 15 August 2010. Jump up ^ Jervis, Rick ; Levin, Alan ( 27 May 2010 ). `` Obama, in Gulf, pledges to push on stopping leak ''. USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved 3 March 2013. Jump up ^ `` Memorial service honors 11 dead oil rig workers ''. USA Today. Jump up ^ US Energy Information Administration, Crude oil production, accessed 8 August 2013. Jump up ^ US Minerals Management Service, May 2009, Gulf of Mexico Oil and Gas Production Forecast : 2009 - 2018, OCS Report MMS 2009 - 012, PDF file, p. 21, downloaded 3 July 2009. Jump up ^ Theron Wasson ( 1948 ) `` Creole Field, Gulf of Mexico, Coast of Louisiana '' in Structure of Typical American Oil Fields, v. 3, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, p. 281 - 298. Jump up ^ Edgar Wesley Owen ( 1975 ) Trek of the Oil Finders, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 6, p. 800. Jump up ^ Edgar Wesley Owen ( 1975 ) Trek of the Oil Finders, American Association of Petroleum Geologists, Memoir 6, p. 800. Jump up ^ Texas Railroad Commission : Crude oil and casinghead gas production for December 2007, PDF file, downloaded 17 February 2009. Jump up ^ Texas Railroad Commission : Gas well gas and condensate production for December 2007, PDF file, downloaded 17 February 2009. Jump up ^ Geological Survey of Alabama, Petroleum exploration and development offshore Alabama, PDF file, downloaded 24 July 2009. Jump up ^ R.Q. Foote ( 1985 ) Summary Report on the Regional Geology, Petroleum Geology, Environmental Geology, and Estimates of Undiscovered Recoverable Oil and Gas Resources in the Planning Area of Proposed Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Lease No. 94, Eastern Gulf of Mexico, US Geological Survey, Open - File Report 85 - 669. Jump up ^ Herman Gunther ( 1956 ) Exploration for Oil and Gas in Florida, Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular No. 1, 1955 Supplement, p. 1. Jump up ^ Herman Gunther ( 1957 ) Exploration for Oil and Gas in Florida, Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular No. 1, 1956 Supplement, p. 5. Jump up ^ Robert O. Vernon and Charles W. Hendry ( 1960 ) Exploration for Oil and Gas in Florida, Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular No. 1, 1959 Supplement, p. 2. Jump up ^ Jaqueline M. Lloyd, 1997, 1994 and 1995 Florida Petroleum Production and Exploration, Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular 111, p. 16. Jump up ^ US Fish & Wildlife Service ( 29 May 2002 ) Interior reaches agreement to acquire mineral rights in Everglades, settles litigation on offshore oil and gas leases in Destin Dome, accessed 13 May 2009. Jump up ^ Jaqueline M. Lloyd, 1997, 1994 and 1995 Florida Petroleum Production and Exploration, Florida Geological Survey, Information Circular 111, p. 12. Jump up ^ Florida House of Representatives, HB 1219 - Regulation of State Lands and Oil and Gas Resources, accessed 24 July 2009. Jump up ^ Significant gas resource discovered in U.S. Gulf of Mexico, U.S. Geological Survey, 29 May 2009. 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 Interactive map of oil and gas platforms and pipelines in the GOM Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Offshore_oil_and_gas_in_the_Gulf_of_Mexico_(United_States)&oldid=834404673 '' Categories : Gulf of Mexico oil fields of the United States Gulf of Mexico Natural gas fields in the United States Petroleum in the United States Hidden categories : Wikipedia articles in need of updating from June 2016 All Wikipedia articles in need of updating All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 5 April 2018, at 15 : 13. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. 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Question: how many oil rigs are off the coast of louisiana
Answer: more than 4,000