As of February 1998, a Minerals Management Service official states there are 155 exploration wells being drilled in Gulf waters and 26 of those are in water depths exceeding 1,000 feet. As of February 1998, Minerals Management Service statistics show 3,800 producing platforms in the Gulf, of which 780 are major platforms. Minerals Management Service statistics from February 1998 show some 152 companies active in the Gulf of Mexico. According to the Monitor, a publication of the Gulf of Mexico Foundation, the population in coastal counties will increase on an average of more than 20 percent in the next 20 years. Annually, more than four million sport fishermen take more than 24 million fishing trips into Gulf waters.
Gulf ports handle nearly one-half of all U.S. import and export tonnage.