For the first time, a record 12 rigs are drilling for oil and natural gas in Gulf of Mexico (GOM) waters that are 5,000 feet or deeper, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) reported Thursday. Director Johnnie Burton called the record ultra deepwater drilling a “very important milestone, which demonstrates how industry continues to focus on new frontiers.”

Burton noted that deepwater oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico continues to be the workhorse of U.S. domestic oil and gas production. Between 1995 and 2002, deepwater oil production rose 535%, while deepwater gas production rose 620%. Production of oil from the GOM now accounts for more than 30% of all U.S. production, while GOM gas production now accounts for 23% of total domestic gas production.

“The U.S. is now in its ninth year of sustained expansion of domestic oil and gas development in the deepwater area of the Gulf of Mexico, and it shows no sign of diminishment,” Burton said. “The resource potential for the nation continues to grow with each new discovery in ultra-deepwater.”

There were five announced discoveries in 5,000 feet of water or more in 2001, three in 2002, and six in 2003. Of the 12 rigs operating now in the deepwater GOM, the deepest is being run by Chevron USA Inc./Transocean’s Discoverer Deep Seas, at 9,020 feet. Anadarko Petroleum Corp./Transocean is operating the Deepwater Millennium in water 8,730 feet deep, while Shell Offshore Inc./Global Santa Fe’s Jack Ryan is in water 7,962 feet deep.

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