Resumen del autor, extraído del trabajo. The sub-salt play in the Gulf of Mexico shelf developed quickly in the early 1990’s with some early wells driving a flurry of leasing activity that culminated in the 1994 and 1995 MMS lease sales. Shell did not participate in the initial leasing activity due to high bonus bidding and its focus on deep water development activity. However, Shell pursued the play with a acreage access strategy that ultimately led to capture of a significant fraction of the reserves discovered by industry in the play to date.