Stuttering outlook for Gulf of Mexico
Despite ever-rising oil and gas production, drilling activity is looking weaker
After a challenging 2018 that saw project momentum in the US Gulf of Mexico (GOM) falter amid weaker oil prices, the outlook for drilling activity in 2019 appears diminished. The November price declines could have a chilling effect on investment, amid rising project costs. It marks a contrast with the situation in early 2018, when oil prices were high and deep layoffs, sustained cost-cutting, new technology, and optimisation had stripped the industry down to lean and mean. Sustained relief on commodity prices, which rose above $60/bbl and even above $70/bbl, was felt and welcomed. Also welcomed were changes in the US tax landscape. The December 2017 tax restructuring reduced corporate income
Also in this section
5 March 2026
Gas is a central pillar of Colombia’s energy system, but declining production poses a significant challenge, and LNG will be increasingly needed as a stopgap. A recent major offshore gas discovery offers hope, but policy improvements are also required, Camilo Morales, secretary general of Naturgas, the Colombian gas association, tells Petroleum Economist
4 March 2026
The continent’s inventories were already depleted before conflict erupted in the Middle East, causing prices to spike ahead of the crucial summer refilling season
4 March 2026
The US president has repeatedly promised to lower gasoline prices, but this ambition conflicts with his parallel aim to increase drilling and could be upended by his war against Iran
4 March 2026
With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed following US-Israel strikes and Iran’s retaliatory escalation, Fujairah has become the region’s critical pressure release valve—and is now under serious threat
