Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (United States) Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (United States) 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. Oil production from US federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico reached an all-time annual high of 1.65 million barrels per day in 2017. Oil production is expected to continue the upward trend in 2018 and 2019, based on ten new
Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (United States) water in 1962; and in a thousand feet of water in 1979. "By 1970, the technology existed to drill in 2,000 feet of water and actual exploratory drilling was taking place at 1,400 feet." 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. The deepest water depth in which a discovery has been made is , at Lloyd Ridge 370 (Diamond). The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida