Overview

The deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is an important oil and gas province and an integral partof the Nation's oil and gas supply. For purposes of this report, deepwater is defined as waterdepths greater than or equal to 1,000 feet (ft). A major milestone was reached in early 2000 when more oil was produced from the deep water GOM than from the shallow-water GOM. Deepwater oil production continues to increase and is rapidly approaching the all-time shallow-water GOM record set in 1971. In addition, deep water drilling reached record levels in 2001.Deep water development activities are expected to continue increasing. Included in this trend isan increasing number of ultra-deepwater (water depths greater than or equal to 5,000 ft)exploration and development activities.