Onshore drilling in the upper Gulf Coast of Texas during 1985 totaled 2,143 wells on an as-reported basis, a 4.5% increase from 1984's total of 2,050 wells. Exploratory drilling was up 7.4%, whereas development drilling increased 3.8% from 1984. Four hundred thirty-six exploratory wells and 1,707 development wells were drilled during 1985.

There were 45 new-field discoveries onshore in 1985 out of 257 new-field exploratory wells, for a 17.5% success rate. The average depth for these wells was 9,716 ft. There were 148 other wildcat discoveries and 31 failures for an 82.7% success rate in the category of new-pool, deeper pool, and extension wells.

The Oligocene trend was the most active trend onshore in 1985 with 45.1% of the drilling, followed by the Eocene trend with 36.9%.

Offshore exploratory drilling in 1985 totaled 82 wells on an as-reported basis. Fourteen gas discoveries, 2 oil discoveries, and 66 dry holes were reported. The overall success rate was 19.5%, a significant increase from the 12% success rate reported in 1984.

Onshore geophysical activity decreased significantly in 1985 to 385 crew-weeks from 1984's total of 937 crew-weeks. Offshore activity was also down in 1985 with 202 crew-weeks compared to 317.5 crew-weeks reported in 1984.