Areas and Blocks
For the purposes of categorizing the location of wells within the Gulf of Mexico, the body of water is divided into Areas and Blocks. Areas refer to large, asymmetric regions of the Gulf, determined by the underlying geography. Blocks are (as much as possible) rectangular sub-sections of each area. They do not cross area lines and are numbered for the purposes of easy identification.
How it’s important to us
When working with assets in the Gulf, wells and prospects are almost universally referred to with an area and block prefix. Offshore leases (at least federal ones) typically map one-to-one with blocks as well. So when someone refers to “Ship Shoal 135 #6,” this is what they are referencing. Here is a good map to give an idea of what the area and block breakdown in the Gulf looks like.
