Gulf of Mexico summary report 3 August 1982: A revision of Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico and their onshore impacts: Gulf of Mexico summary report 2, August 1981

This report is the latest in a series of annual reports summarizing current oil and gas activities in the Gulf of Mexico OCS and their onshore impacts. Oil production for 1981 was 0.27 billion barrels, and gas production was 4.84 trillion cubic feet. Most of the shallow-water areas of the Gulf of Mexico Continental Shelf have been explored. Industry has been developing the technology to explore deepwater areas, and interest in these portions of the Gulf is increasing. As of December 1981, the total of all identified oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico OCS increased to 505 from 482 at the end of the previous year. The number of active fields increased from 466 in 1981, and fields for which reserve estimates have been made increased from 419 to 445. As of January 1982, 19,736 offshore oil and gas wells had been drilled in the Gulf of Mexico OCS; most of the wells (17,257) are off the coast of Louisiana. Currently, there are 2027 active oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico; 1200 of them are producing leases. The Department of the Interior's 5-year OCS oil and gas leasing schedule projects 2 to 3 Gulfmore » of Mexico lease sales per year through 1987, for a total of 12 offerings. Since 1972, oil production in the Gulf of Mexico has declined each year, and gas production, thought to have reached its peak in 1981, is also expected to begin a noticeable decline. To date, most of the oil and gas discovered in the Gulf has occurred on the Texas-Louisiana Shelf, but in the future, oil and gas exploration is likely to include a number of areas where previous leasing has not been extensive. Each year, hundreds of miles of pipelines are added to the existing network in the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, there have been a number of proposals for deepwater ports and transshipment terminals as well as projects including the deepening or widening of existing conventional ports. (DMC)« less