The consolidation among oil and gas producers in the US Gulf of Mexico accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic, new government data showed. Energy prices crashed during the health crisis, forcing out smaller drillers to exit while others, such as Fieldwood Energy and Arena Energy, slipped into bankruptcy.
On the other hand, top producers extended their dominance by taking over these struggling rivals. The top 10 producers in the US Gulf Of Mexico, including Shell, BP, and Chevron, accounted for 86% of the region’s 1.6 million bpd crude oil production in 2020, up from 75% in 2017, data from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) showed.
BP plans to start production on a 140,000-bpd project in early 2022. Shell recently approved a 100,000 bpd field with first production slated for 2024. Meanwhile, Chevron is pressing ahead with a super-high pressure field project that could expand its production in the region by 50,000 bpd.
