Recent FID announcements for the GoM have sought to emphasise cost-cutting measures
Ballymore FID no herald of GoM renaissance
Forecasts are for moderate growth rather than a development bonanza fuelled by high oil prices
Chevron’s mid-May FID on the Ballymore project in the deepwater US Gulf of Mexico (GoM) shows there is still appetite to advance new offshore projects. But it also demonstrates that operators continue to prioritise cost reduction even as crude prices remain at multi-year highs of above $110/bl. “Recent crude oil price increases do not have a significant effect on operations in the Gulf of Mexico, which have a longer runup and are less sensitive to short-term price movements than the Lower 48 [US states],” says Kirby Lawrence, a mathematical statistician at the EIA. The EIA estimates that GoM production was 1.69mn bl/d on average in the first quarter of 2022. The agency anticipates this will
Also in this section
27 January 2025
Regional state-owned firms are transforming their strategies and leveraging their resources to position themselves as clean energy powerhouses, and to ensure they maintain influence in a low-carbon world
27 January 2025
Asian neighbours seek resolution on territorial dispute for hydrocarbons development that has spanned decades
24 January 2025
Domestic companies in Nigeria and other African jurisdictions are buying assets from existing majors they view as more likely to deliver production upside under their stewardship
23 January 2025
The end of transit, though widely anticipated, leaves Europe paying a third more for gas than a year ago and greatly exposed to supply shocks
