In 1950, 1,121 wells were drilled in the Louisiana Gulf Coast. Of this number, 270 or 24.09 per cent were classified as exploratory wells, and 851 or 75.91 per cent as field-development wells. Only nine more exploratory wells were drilled in 1950 than in 1949.

Of the 270 exploratory wells, 73 or 27.04 per cent were successful. The successful wells in the various categories are as follows.

Successful new-field wildcats    19
Successful new-pool wildcats      6
Successful outpost wildcats      45
Successful shallower-pool tests   3

Of the 851 development wells, 673 or 79.08 per cent were successful and 178 were failures.

The 1,121 wells reflect a 17.26 per cent increase over the 956 wells drilled in 1949. This figure includes only new holes drilled and does not include work-overs.

The 19 new-field discoveries include 13 oil fields and 6 gas fields. These figures include 3 oil fields and 1 gas field completed offshore.