From Placid Oil’s GC29 Floating Production System in 1986 to some of the world’s largest and deepest TLP’s, FPSO’s, Spars and Semisubmersible platforms, the Gulf of America has been an offshore industry pioneer of deepwater floating production platforms, risers and mooring systems. In the ensuing forty years over sixty platforms have been installed in water depths ranging from 475 m to 9200 m. This session will feature panelists that will address the history and evolution of various elements of deepwater platforms including: • A Major Operator (Shell Oil Company) • An Independent Operator (LLOG or Murphy) • Evolution of Mooring systems (David Petruska) • Evolution of Riser Systems (David Walter) • Evolution of topside engineering (Wood or Audubon) • Evolution of topside fabrication and integration (Kiewit) The session will highlight trailblazing technologies and describe how the industry has adapted to frequent headwinds of fluctuating oil prices and extreme meteorological events to stay the course and find ways to commercially develop deep reservoirs in deep and ultradeep water. It will provide a historical record of some of the remarkable achievements of a resilient and innovative industry.