A TikTok went viral after is showed how oil rigs can dwarf some of the world's most iconic skyscrapers. Oil platforms like the Bullwinkle in the Gulf of Mexico can span over 1,000 feet in length.

Any offshore oil rig that extends past 1500 meters is considered to be an ultra-deepwater production facility. However, that's still nowhere close to the deepest man has explored in the ocean.

They’re enormous. The BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico that exploded April 20 was 400 feet by 250 feet—roughly the size of two football fields—with a crew of 130. Some rigs are even larger ...

The rig itself was found on the sea floor about 1,500 feet from the well. The sheen of crude oil and water mix on the surface of the water was still more than 40 miles from shore at its closest ...

The Gulf is one of the richest deposits of offshore oil and gas in the world, and almost 600 unused rigs have been left as underwater reefs. Photograph by Tyrone Turner, Nat Geo Image Collection ...

Operating in 4,130 feet (1,260 meters) of water, the rig had drilled six miles (10 km) beneath the sea floor to reveal a major petroleum find, the Tiber Prospect, for the giant oil company BP.

Offshore oil and gas drilling has been a contentious issue in California for 50 years, ever since a rig ruptured and spilled 80,000 to 100,000 barrels of crude oil off Santa Barbara in 1969.