how many oil rigs are off the coast of louisiana
Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (United States) The state of Louisiana issued its first offshore oil and gas lease in 1936, and the following year the Pure Oil Company discovered the first Louisiana offshore oil field, the Creole Field, 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from the shore of Cameron Parish, from a platform built on timber pilings in 10-to-15-foot-deep (3.0 to 4.6 m) water.[15][16] Today, there are more than 4,000 production platforms and drilling rigs off the coast of Louisiana.[citation needed]