The Gulf of Mexico's misty horizons
While production will rise in 2018, the longer-term prospects are less positive
Not much has changed over the past 12 months to lessen the misery in the US Gulf of Mexico (GoM), where low commodity prices pushed E&P activity to historic lows. As we predicted a year ago, the string of deep-water oil projects coming to completion raised the Gulf's share of US oil production from 17% in 2016 to 19% in 2017. Conversely, the Gulf's contribution to US natural gas output has shrunk from 5% to roughly 4.5%. Drilling activity hasn't improved, with the Baker Hughes Rotary Rig Count listing an average 20 units working in the Gulf during the first 10 months of 2017, compared with an average 22 rigs during 2016. A mixed picture can be found in the number of drilling permits appr
Also in this section
9 April 2026
The April 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
9 April 2026
Offshore operators are working through an FID backlog as the rig market consolidates, helped by improving project economics and a renewed security drive
2 April 2026
Alongside a rapid continued build-out of renewables, China’s latest five-year plan stresses the value of domestic hydrocarbon production for energy security and calls for increased Russian gas imports
2 April 2026
The government is taking important steps to revive domestic production, lift investment and benefit from the geopolitical crisis even if more needs to be done in the longer term
