If you "keep your pants on," the inshore rigs will be making a comeback. The latest and greatest thing from marine petroleum exploration is drilling REALLY REALLY DEEP, but in shallow water.
What, how is this amazing feat possible?!
Well, not being a petroleum engineer, I haven't a frickin' clue. But the wizards at the world's premier petroleum engineering university (yes it's aggies, SAY IT!!) have figured that vast piles of oil, gas, and feta cheese lie buried deep beneath the sediments on a whole other level beyond what was normally thought... a pocket under the pocket, as it were.
Yes, once again, modern science has proven that petroleum, while not inexhaustible, bears striking parallels with the Energizer Bunny, as it keeps going, and going, and going... another grim setback for the end-of-oil naysayers, but there's always tomorrow.
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Recent test drills have shown these deposits to be underlying older ones found along the shallow Gulf coast. So expect to see new rigs being built, but as you are probably aware most of the offshore petroleum industry is concentrated off the coast of Louisiana/Alabama. Texas is comparative peanuts. And the current trend is "bigger, better" so you'll see the heap of little platforms replaced with the great big platform. It's better for the environment anyway.
And if you can't wait, I'm sure Texas will get a significant portion of the ships MARAD is planning to sell off as artificial reefs. There's a rusty armada (led by the Oriskany) ripe for the picking, and that underwater junkyard we call Florida will soon run of water to sink stuff in, else become an enormous slalom course.
