Nonexistent just three decades ago, oil production in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico now accounts for nearly three-fourths of the offshore region's crude output and has become a vital piece of the nation's energy supply
As we look at the data, it's clear that deep-water advancement is occurring in all areas — leasing, drilling and production
With oil prices at record levels and global energy demands rising, oil companies have had more incentive to push into deep-water regions that were once considered too costly to develop.
The trend has helped lure massive investment to the Gulf and revive its status as a global hot spot.
The global offshore drilling industry is poised to grow by 50 percent over the next four years
With such predictions, it is clear why oil and gas companies and the firms that supply equipment and services to them see opportunity ahead.
Clyde Hewlett, a vice president at Oceaneering International, a Houston-based equipment supplier to the offshore oil and gas industry exhibiting Monday at OTC, keeps looking for signs of a slowdown in the deep-water boom, but they haven't come.
He points to orders for floating deep-water drilling rigs, which despite being more than $500 million to build, continue to be placed. As Hewlett put it: "People are not out making $500 million decisions if they don't think the prospects are there."
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