More than a decade ago few companies intentionally penetrated and successfully drilled the large salt sections in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Problems common to drilling in salt led to excessive nonproductive time (NPT): hole instability, stuck pipe, tools lost in hole, among others. Although techniques are now available that enable successful drilling of many of these large salt structures, there still are some formations with characteristics that make drilling challenging. This paper focuses on one such ultradeep subsalt prospect and the strategies used to overcome the key issues of nonhomogeneous salt formations, shock and vibration, and salt inclusions. Application of new and emerging technologies and techniques for drilling in similar environments focused on drilling parameter optimization, bottomhole assembly (BHA) tendencies, and stuck-pipe analysis. This paper presents comparisons of the results expected prior to optimization measures and the actual results.