At the last Gulf lease sale by MMS, Anadarko picked up 48 tracts. It and Mariner bid $52.5 million for the Walker Ridge block; in all, Anadarko paid $128 million for leases. Maersk made bids totaling $97 million, Shell $89 million, Chevron $79 million.
Maersk is known for container shipping, but it also is into petroleum exploration.

Chevron has ordered a drillship from Pacific Drilling, the ship being built in South Korea. It is capable of drilling in 12,000 feet of water and to more than 35,000 feet depth.