Gulf of Mexico to produce at record highs

Oil production on the US Gulf of Mexico will reach record highs by 2017 due to the launching of 14 projects, analyst group US Energy Information Administration said yesterday.

It projects this year’s average production will be 1.63 million bpd, and output will rise to 1.79 million bpd in 2017. By December of the same year, production in the area will hit 1.91 million bpd, totalling 21% of all US crude oil production.

There are currently eight ongoing projects since 2015, with two projects expected to come on line this year and four projects expected to begin production in 2017. US independents Noble Energy, Anadarko and LLOG Exploration as well as super-majors Shell and ExxonMobil currently have producing offshore assets. Shell, Noble and Anadarko have facilities forecasted for production next year.

The upturn in production is in contrast to other major producing countries demanding a cap on production to counter the current oil glut that has led to drastically low oil prices and strained economies.