The US Gulf of Mexico is one of the world’s main offshore oil regions. Oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico drill wells, while about 1,660 oil and gas platforms produce from them. This guide covers how many there are, where they stand, who owns them, the biggest ones, and what happens when they stop producing.
US federal agencies, including BOEM and BSEE, have used the name Gulf of America since 2025 under Executive Order 14172. This page uses Gulf of Mexico, with both names meaning the same waters.
How Many Oil Platforms Are in the Gulf of Mexico?
There were about 1,664 oil and gas platforms in US federal Gulf waters in 2022, according to a 2025 BOEM study. That is down from more than 4,000 in 1985, as removals outpace new builds.
- Installed since the 1940s: more than 7,000 platforms and 55,000 wells on the US outer continental shelf, mostly in the Gulf (GAO, 2024).
- Standing in April 2021: 1,756 platforms, based on BSEE Data Center records (BOEM, 2025).
- Removed each year: about 200 platforms a year over the last decade (BSEE).
Most platforms stand in shallow water on the continental shelf off Louisiana and Texas. A much smaller number of large floating and deepwater platforms produce most of the oil.
How Many Oil Rigs Are in the Gulf of Mexico?
Rigs and platforms are not the same. A rig drills wells and moves between sites, while a platform produces oil and gas for years. The number of working drilling rigs changes weekly and is far smaller than the platform count.
Drilling in deep water uses drillships and semi-submersible rigs. Shallow wells are often drilled by jack-up rigs standing on the seabed. For a current count, the Baker Hughes weekly rig count reports the active drilling rigs in the Gulf.
The types of offshore oil rigs and platforms explain how each unit works and which water depths it suits.
How Much Oil Does the Gulf of Mexico Produce?
Federal offshore Gulf fields produced about 1.9 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025, according to the US Energy Information Administration. That is roughly 14% of total US crude production of 13.6 million barrels per day.
Output rose by about 111,000 barrels per day from 2024. Most of it now comes from deepwater fields, far beyond the shallow platforms that started the industry.
Where Are the Oil Rigs in the Gulf of Mexico?
Most Gulf platforms lie off Louisiana and Texas, with fewer off Mississippi and Alabama. Shallow-water platforms crowd the continental shelf; deepwater platforms stand farther out, often 100 miles or more from shore.
The Gulf covers about 600,000 square miles (1.55 million km²). It connects to the Atlantic through the Straits of Florida and to the Caribbean through the Yucatán Channel.
Mexico’s side of the Gulf has its own offshore fields, operated mainly by the state company Pemex. The figures on this page cover US federal waters only.
Where Can You See a Map of Gulf of Mexico Oil Platforms?
The most reliable maps and lists come from the US regulators. BSEE publishes platform locations and structure lists, updated regularly, and runs an online map of offshore infrastructure. BOEM publishes the same data as GIS layers.
- Platform lists and locations: the BSEE Data Center platform pages offer downloadable platform structure and location lists. A PDF of platform locations in the Gulf is also available; the files were updated on 1 October 2026.
- Interactive map: the BSEE Offshore Infrastructure Dashboard maps platforms on the outer continental shelf. It was built to help assess structures for the Rigs-to-Reefs programme.
- GIS data: BOEM publishes platform, well and pipeline layers for mapping software through its data center.
Can you see oil rigs on Google Maps?
Large platforms show up in satellite imagery when you zoom in on the right area, but small shelf platforms are hard to find. The BSEE lists give the exact block and coordinates for each structure, which makes them easier to locate.
How Far Offshore Are the Oil Platforms?
Gulf platforms range from a few miles offshore to 100 miles or more out. State waters end 3 nautical miles off Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, and 9 nautical miles off Texas and Florida.
Federal waters begin beyond that line, under limits set by the Submerged Lands Act of 1953. In federal waters, BOEM leases offshore blocks, and BSEE regulates safety. A nautical mile is 1,852 m, about 1.15 statute miles.
Deepwater fields lie much farther out. BP’s Thunder Horse platform, for example, is about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans.
When Was the First Oil Platform Built in the Gulf of Mexico?
The first well drilled out of sight of land was Kerr-McGee’s Kermac No. 16, completed on 14 November 1947. It stood in about 20 feet of water in Ship Shoal Block 32, around 10 miles off Louisiana.
Kerr-McGee drilled it with partners Phillips Petroleum and Stanolind. Over the following decades, platforms moved into deeper water, and floating production systems took over where fixed structures became too large.
What Is the Biggest Oil Platform in the Gulf of Mexico?
BP’s Thunder Horse is usually named the largest. It is a production, drilling and quarters (PDQ) semi-submersible that BP described as the largest in the world. It can process 250,000 barrels of oil per day.
- Location: Mississippi Canyon Block 778, about 150 miles southeast of New Orleans.
- Owners: BP (operator, 75%) and ExxonMobil (25%).
- Size: hull displacement of 129,000 tonnes; main deck of 367 by 446 ft.
- Capacity: 250,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day.
Thunder Horse is not an FPSO; it has no oil storage and exports oil by pipeline. The deepest floating platform in the Gulf is Shell’s Perdido spar, moored in about 2,450 m (8,040 ft) of water in the Alaminos Canyon area.
Who Owns the Oil Rigs in the Gulf of Mexico?
The oil and gas companies that hold federal leases own the platforms. The US government owns the seabed and leases blocks through BOEM. Platforms are usually run by one operator on behalf of partners.
Thunder Horse, for example, is operated by BP with ExxonMobil as partner, and Perdido is operated by Shell. Drilling rigs are usually owned by drilling contractors and hired by the operators.
What Happens to Old Oil Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico?
Old platforms must be decommissioned: wells are plugged and the structure is removed within set deadlines. Some are left as artificial reefs under the Rigs-to-Reefs programme. Platforms and wells left idle past their deadline are known as “idle iron”.
- Overdue work: more than 2,700 wells and 500 platforms were overdue for decommissioning in June 2023 (GAO, 2024).
- Reefs: 558 structures had been reefed by the time of BOEM’s 2025 synthesis, 191 of them toppled or partly removed.
- Pace: removals of about 200 platforms a year have cut the count by more than half since 1985.
Reefed platforms attract fish, and BOEM’s 2025 study cites research tying more than half of Gulf recreational fishing to offshore structures. Decommissioning is regulated by BSEE.
How Are Gulf Platforms Maintained?
Platform maintenance covers inspection, corrosion protection, painting, repairs and equipment servicing. BSEE inspects offshore facilities for safety and environmental compliance. Much of the work is done from support vessels alongside the platform.
In shallow water, much of this work is done from lift boats. They jack up beside a platform and give crews a steady deck and crane. Supplies, fuel and equipment arrive on supply vessels and anchor handling tug supply (AHTS) vessels.
How Do Ships Stay Clear of Gulf Platforms?
US Coast Guard rules keep shipping lanes clear and make platforms visible at night. Shipping safety fairways give ships approaches through the oil fields, and every platform carries white obstruction lights.
- Safety fairways: 33 CFR 166.200 sets fairways “to control the erection of structures therein”. They give ships safe approaches through the oil fields to major Gulf ports.
- Fairway anchorages: structures may be placed in these areas, but each must be at least two nautical miles from existing structures.
- Lights: under 33 CFR 67, Class A structures carry white obstruction lights at least 20 ft above mean high water. The lights must be visible for at least 5 nautical miles.
Platforms also have fog signals under the same rules. Mariners plot them from charts and keep clear, especially in poor visibility.
What Was the Deepwater Horizon Disaster?
In April 2010, a blowout on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon caused an explosion, a fire and the largest marine oil spill in US history. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill page covers what happened and how offshore rules changed afterwards.
Related Topics
- How much oil rig workers make: pay for offshore crews on Gulf platforms and rigs.
- How to become an oil rig worker: training and certificates for offshore work.
- Dynamic positioning systems: how deepwater drilling units hold position without anchors.
How many oil platforms are in the Gulf of Mexico?
About 1,664 platforms stood in US federal Gulf waters in 2022, according to BOEM. The number has fallen from more than 4,000 in 1985 as old platforms are removed.
How many oil rigs are in the Gulf of Mexico?
Far fewer than platforms. Drilling rigs move between wells, and the active count changes weekly; the Baker Hughes rig count reports the current number.
How many oil wells are in the Gulf of Mexico?
More than 55,000 wells have been drilled on the US outer continental shelf since the 1940s, mostly in the Gulf. Many are now plugged and abandoned.
How much oil comes from the Gulf of Mexico?
About 1.9 million barrels of crude oil per day in 2025, roughly 14% of US crude production, according to the EIA.
What is the biggest oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico?
BP’s Thunder Horse, a semi-submersible production platform moored in about 6,050 ft of water, is usually named the largest. It can process 250,000 barrels of oil per day.
How far offshore are the oil rigs?
Platforms range from a few miles offshore to 100 miles or more out. Federal waters begin 3 nautical miles off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama and 9 nautical miles off Texas and Florida.
Is there a map of oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico?
Yes. BSEE publishes platform location lists and an online Offshore Infrastructure Dashboard, and BOEM publishes GIS layers of platforms, wells and pipelines.
What is the Gulf of America?
It is the name US federal agencies have used for the Gulf of Mexico since 2025, under Executive Order 14172. Both names refer to the same waters.
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