In late 1998, the U.S. Minerals Management Service began a cooperative data and application development effort with the environmental team of Esri's Professional Services Division. Entitled "Deepwater GIS," the objectives of this project are to develop data formats, standards, and GIS software so that environmental studies data deliverables are compatible with MMS's environmental and geographic information systems. The project is a direct result of the increased needs for environmental data in deepwater (>1,000 feet) regions of the Gulf of Mexico in response to increasing levels of oil and gas activity in deep water.