Heidelberg

Crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has been riding high in recent months, still surfing the wave of deepwater and ultra-deepwater projects whose development started in the “good ole days” of $100/Bbl oil. Some incremental output is still being added, keeping GOM production levels high even as onshore oil output is declining in response to low crude prices and drilling cutbacks. But exploration and production companies (E&Ps) are cutting their spending on offshore projects, and unless oil prices start to rebound soon the Gulf too will see a leveling off—and after that, a gradual fall--in production. Today, we conclude our series on resilient production levels in the GOM with a look at recent cutbacks and what they may mean for Gulf oil output in 2016 and beyond.