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
26 April 2024
While the US has been breaking records for its premium grade crude, there are doubts over whether you can have too much of a good thing
26 April 2024
Slowing demand growth and capacity expansions will squeeze refiners in coming years
25 April 2024
Some companies with assets in Israel have turned towards Egypt as tensions escalate, but others are holding firm despite rising tensions
24 April 2024
But even planned exploration activity is unlikely to reverse declining output from mature fields