Oil production in the US Gulf of Mexico is set to continue breaking the record in 2020, despite significant cuts in investment, according to Oslo-based independent consulting firm Rystad Energy. Oil production in the region has grown by an average of 104,000 bpd every year since 2013.
The Big Foot and Crosby fields have been the top contributors in the output growth so far this year. Infill drilling in legacy producing fields such as Thunder Horse Tahiti, and Mars, have also contributed substantially to the production expansion. Meanwhile, the Appomattox field is expected to have a significant impact on the growth as it increases its processing capacity of 175,000 boepd by the end of the year.
The collective resources discovered the Gulf of Mexico since 2014 has totaled 5.03 billion boe, with an estimated value of $1.9 billion, making it the second most prospective offshore region in the world, just behind Guyana.
Oil production continues to grow in the gulf amid successive cost-cutting. Total investments in the region are less than $15 billion in 2019, compared to its peak of $30.2 billion in 2014. The investments are projected to reach $17.7 billion by 2022. Meanwhile, development costs and operational expenditures have dropped by 60% and 7%, respectively since 2015.
