More rigs working in deepwater US Gulf of Mexico, says MMS

By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, Nov. 19 -- Forty-seven rigs were working in at least 1,000 ft of water in the Gulf of Mexico this week, said the US Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service.

Of these, a record 43 were working in 1,500 ft or more of water, and 9 were working in 5,000 ft or more of water.

At the beginning of the year, 39 rigs were working in at least 1,000 ft of water, 32 in at least 1,500 ft of water.

The agency said the number of wells drilled in at least 1,000 ft of water during Fiscal Year 2001 was 277, up from 226 drilled the previous year.

Recently, Unocal Corp. used Transocean Sedco Forex Inc.'s Discoverer Spirit drillship to spud a well in a world record depth of 9,727 ft on Alaminos Canyon Block 903. Discoverer Spirit also held the previous record of 9,687 ft, also on Alaminos Canyon Block 903 (OGJ Online, Nov. 1, 2001).

The other eight wells in at least 5,000 ft of water are:

-- Kerr-McGee Corp.'s Morganser prospect on Atwater Valley Block 37 in 8,015 ft.

-- Anadarko Petroleum Corp.'s White Ash prospect on Mississippi Canyon Block 392 in 7,291 ft.

-- Amoco Production Co.'s King's Peak project on Mississippi Canyon in 6,845 ft.

-- BP PLC unit BP Exploration's Crazy Horse on Mississippi Canyon Block 822 in 6,255 ft.

-- Shell Offshore Inc.'s Ariel prospect on Mississippi Canyon 429 in 6,115 ft.

-- Amerada Hess Corp.'s Kama prospect on Mississippi Canyon 382 in 5,432 ft.

-- Kerr-McGee's Red Hawk prospect on Garden Banks 877 in 5,340 ft.

-- Shell Offshore's Mensa project on Mississippi Canyon 687 in 5,150 ft.