|
Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico is a major source of oil and natural gas in the United States. The western and central Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, is one of the major petroleum-producing areas of the United States. According to the Energy Information Administration, "Gulf of Mexico federal offshore oil production accounts for 17% of total U.S. crude oil production and federal offshore natural gas production in the Gulf accounts for 5% of total U.S. dry production. Over 45% of total U.S. petroleum refining capacity is located along the Gulf coast, as well as 51% of total U.S. natural gas processing plant capacity."〔(Gulf of Mexico Fact Sheet ), Energy Information Administration.〕 Major fields include Eugene Island block 330 oil field, Atlantis Oil Field, and the Tiber oilfield (discovered 2009). Notable oil platforms include Baldpate, Bullwinkle, Mad Dog, Magnolia, Mars, Petronius, and Thunder Horse. Notable individual wells include Jack 2 and Knotty Head. ==History of Gulf oil production== As technology has progressed over the years, oil companies have extended drilling and production farther and farther from shore, and into deeper and deeper waters. A platform was installed in a hundred feet of water for the first time in 1955; in two hundred feet of water in 1962; and in a thousand feet of water in 1979.〔Michael D. Max, Arthur H. Johnson & William P. Dillon, ''(Economic Geology of Natural Gas Hydrate )'', Vol. 9 (Spring, 2006), p. 28.〕 "By 1970, the technology existed to drill in 2,000 feet of water and actual exploratory drilling was taking place at 1,400 feet."〔John A. Duff, (U.S. Ratifies Maritime Boundary Treaty with Mexico ), Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Legal Program, Water Log 17.4.〕 By 2009, more than 70% of Gulf of Mexico oil production came from wells drilled in depths greater than , almost double from the percentage ten years ago.〔Lars Herbst, (New Batch of Discoveries in Deep Water Keeping Gulf At Forefront Of U.S. Production ), ''American Oil & Gas Reporter'', April 2009.〕 The deepest water depth in which a discovery has been made is , at Lloyd Ridge 370 (Diamond).〔(OCS Planning Areas of the Continental United States Depicting Sales Proposed for the 5 Year Program 2007-2012 ), fig. 5.〕 The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida and part of offshore Alabama, since 1995. In March 2010, President Barack Obama announced plans to allow drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, in federal waters greater than from the coasts of Alabama and Florida.〔John M. Broder, (Obama Oil Drilling Plan Draws Critics ), ''New York Times'' (March 31, 2010).〕 In December 2010, following the ''Deepwater Horizon'' oil spill, the Obama administration reversed its plans to open the eastern Gulf, and imposed a moratorium on new drilling in the eastern Gulf of Mexico for at least seven years.〔(Obama bans eastern Gulf drilling for 7 years ), CNN (December 1, 2010).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (United States)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|