GOMR MMS Report: Deepwater Gulf of Mexico 2008: America’s Offshore Energy Future http://www.gomr.mms.gov/PDFs/2008/2008-013.pdf HIGHLIGHTS AND CONCLUSIONS Highlights from this report include • 54 percent of all GOM leases are located in deep water. • Sale 206 attracted approximately $3.7 billion in high bids – the most since Federal offshore leasing began in 1954. The sum of the high bids for deepwater blocks was 93.2 percent of the total. • Sale 224 was the first lease offering in the Eastern Gulf since 1988. This is also the first sale where the revenue sharing provisions of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 start immediately. • Sale 205 was an exceptional lease offering that attracted over $2.9 billion in high bids on 723 blocks – the third largest total in U.S. offshore leasing history. • A record high of 15 rigs were operating in ultra-deep water (>=5,000 ft or 1,524 m) in 2007. • At least 13 new drilling rigs are being built and contracted for use in the ultra-deepwater Gulf and will be ready for operation in the next 2-3 years—they will be capable of operating in water depths up to 12,000 ft (3,658 m) and drilling up to 40,000 ft (12,192 m) in depth. • There were eight industry-announced discoveries in 2007, including one in the Lower Tertiary. • Of the 52 discoveries in ultra-deep water, Lower Tertiary rocks were encountered approximately 27 percent of the time. • There are 125 proved deepwater fields in the GOM, representing a 44 percent increase since the end of 2006. • Nonmajor companies have made more deepwater discoveries and hold more deepwater acreage than the major companies. • There were 130 producing projects in the deepwater GOM at the end of 2007. • For the first time, all of the 20 most prolific producing blocks in the GOM are located in deep water. • Deepwater oil production rose about 820 percent and deepwater gas production increased about 1,155 percent from 1992 to 2006.
• Several fields associated with the Independence Hub production facility came online in 2007. When the hub is at full capacity, the gas production will represent over 10 percent of the total GOM gas production. • Cheyenne, one of the subsea fields tying back to Independence Hub, has the deepest production in the GOM to date, in a water depth of 8,960 ft (2,731 m). • The first FPSO for use in the U.S. GOM will be installed for the development of the Cascade and Chinook Fields in Walker Ridge, with first oil expected in 2010. • Another first for the GOM will be the installation of a ship-shape, dynamically positioned, disconnectable turret FPU for the Phoenix development in Green Canyon, with a planned production startup in the third quarter of 2008. • The Perdido Regional Development hub will produce the Great White, Tobago and Silvertip discoveries in Alaminos Canyon beginning in 2010. Once installed, the truss spar will set a new record as the deepest spar in over 8,000 ft (2,438 m) of water depth. • The Atlantis semisubmersible platform in the deepwater GOM is the deepest moored, floating oil and gas production facility in the world. • Deepwater subsea wells constitute 63 percent of the total subsea well population in the GOM. The future of deepwater GOM exploration and production remains very promising. Factors contributing to the increase in deepwater activity include several key discoveries (including those recent discoveries in the Lower Tertiary Trend), the recognition of high production rates, the evolution of development technologies, and a rise in oil and gas prices. The remainder of this report combines historic leasing, drilling, development, reserve, and production data, revealing overall trends in deepwater activity and expectations.
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