The drilling mechanism used for drilling into the sea floor is much the same as can be found on an onshore rig. However, while with onshore drilling the ground provides a platform from which to drill, at sea an artificial drilling platform must be constructed. Drilling offshore dates back to 1869, when one of the first patents was granted to T.F. Rowland for his offshore drilling rig design. It wasn’t until after 1947 that the first offshore well was drilled in the Gulf of Mexico.