US Dept. of Interior announces eight oil and gas discoveries in Gulf of Mexico

The U.S. Department of the Interior's Minerals Management Service, the agency that oversees oil and gas production on federal land and in federal waters throughout the United States, announced exploration companies have made eight new discoveries of oil and gas since the beginning of the year.

Deep water in the Gulf of Mexico is defined as areas where the depth is 1,000 feet or greater. Of the eight announced discoveries, the deepest was in 9,627 feet of water.

These eight new discoveries indicate that the province is still developing at a strict pace, said MMS Gulf of Mexico Regional Director Chris Oynes.

At the beginning of 2004, there were 90 deepwater projects in production, a 48-percent increase since 2001, according to MMS officials. Additionally, in the past three years there have been 11 discoveries in water depths greater than 7,000 feet, they said.