On April 20, 2010, an and fire occurred on the , which was owned and operated by and drilling for in the about 40 miles (64 km) southeast off the coast. The explosion and subsequent fire resulted in the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon and the deaths of 11 workers.
[pdf] The Gulf is home to more than 3,500 offshore oil and gas structures, though only a small number are active drilling sites. For the men and women working on these platforms, the risks are constant.
[pdf] Offshore drilling is a mechanical process where a wellbore is drilled below the seabed. It is typically carried out in order to explore for and subsequently extract petroleum that lies in rock formations beneath the seabed. Most commonly, the term is used to describe drilling activities on the continental shelf, though the term can also be applied to drilling in lakes, inshore waters and inland seas. Of. HistoryAround 1891, the first submerged oil wells were drilled from platforms built on piles in the fresh waters of the in . The wells were developed by small local companies such as Bryson, Riley Oil, G. .
Offshore drilling is usually done from platforms generically known as mobile offshore drilling units (MODU), which can be of one of several formats, depending on the water depth: •. .
Notable offshore fields include: • the • the (offshore , , , and )• (in the and , part of the Ventura Basin).
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