OCS Offshore Prospect Names, Blocks & Owners

What is a Prospect Name?

Oil companies routinely assign code names to offshore prospects early in the exploration effort. This practice helps ensure secrecy during the confidential pre-sale phase, and later provides convenient names for casual reference rather than the often similar-sounding official lease names denoted by, for example, the Minerals Management Service in the case of federal waters in the USA. Names in a given year or area might follow a theme such as beverages (e.g., Cognac), heavenly bodies (e.g., Mars), or even cartoon characters (e.g., Bullwinkle), but usually have no geological or geographical significance to the prospect itself.

File layout:

Lease The number assigned to a lease by the regulatory agency have jurisdiction over mineral activity in the territory where the lease is located.
Area/Block The Area Code and designated OCS Block Number of the well at the surface location.
Water Depth The average vertical distance from mean sea level to the sea floor for a block. (Measured in feet)
Operator Name Company Name of the qualified company who owns all or a part of the given lease
Lease Status Identifies the development stage of the lease as assigned by the Minerals Management Service's Office of Leasing and Environment.
Status Date YYYYMMDD - The date that the development stage of a lease becomes operative. Notes: This is any notes mentioning the source we obtained for the Prospect Name