Going off script in the Gulf of Mexico
Output is still rising in the Gulf of Mexico, even if the longer-term picture is cloudier
THE BIG screen version of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster will hit cinemas this autumn, bringing a time of existential angst for America’s offshore oil industry back to the fore. In the weeks and months after the accident, as CNN ran a live feed of crude spewing into the Gulf of Mexico and the government shut down the sector, a recovery in the US offshore seemed distant. But six years on, the sector has not only moved on from the tragedy but emerged as a relative bright spot in America’s oil landscape. High oil prices and a string of exploration successes saw the pipeline of new GoM projects fill up after the Macondo disaster. Today, those discoveries are yielding new barrels – defying t
Also in this section
22 April 2026
The failure of OMV Petrom’s keenly watched exploration campaign at Bulgaria’s Han Asparuh block highlights the Black Sea’s uneven track record, despite major successes like Neptun Deep and Sakarya
22 April 2026
Sustained strikes on ports, terminals and refineries are testing the resilience of Russia’s oil export system, yet rapid repairs, rerouting and surging prices mean the campaign has yet to deliver a decisive blow
21 April 2026
After overcoming a COVID-induced demand collapse with several years of successful market management, geopolitical events have conspired to provide the pact’s biggest test to date
21 April 2026
The regime’s policy of using nuclear ambiguity as a deterrent may have failed but it has realised it has other cards to play, while its neighbours are reappraising their approach to security






