Data from conventional two- and three-dimensional seismic surveys and wells were used to analyze the morphology of salt structures and to determine the history of salt emplacement in a 1,500-mi2 (3,885-km2) region of the continental slope, northeast Green Canyon Area. Salt structures within the region include stocks, massifs, an allochthonous sheet, and remnant-salt structures. Also within this region is a largely salt free area (at least to a depth of 20,000 to 25,000 ft (6,100 to 7,600 m) that coincides with a U-shaped submarine trough.

There was a consensus that technology has in the past reduced, and will continue in the future to reduce, exploration and production costs. In the United States, for example, rigorous application of technology has resulted in the last decade or so in essentially flat supply cost projections. The relatively stable supply costs are due to technology and its impact in reducing production costs (William L. Fisher, "The U.S. Experience in Natural Gas: Revitalization of a Resource Base Thought Exhausted, this volume).