Tubular Bells

Crude oil production in the Gulf of Mexico is on the rebound, and headed into record territory as the fifth anniversary of the Macondo blowout approaches. Several major deepwater projects--including Hess and Chevron’s Tubular Bells—are starting to produce oil after years of development, and others will follow in 2015 and 2016. The gains in GOM crude production are significant; daily output now stands at about 1.5 MMb/d, and it’s seen rising to 2 MMb/d within three years. In today’s blog, “Tubular Bell—Gulf of Mexico Oil Gains Exorcise Macondo’s Ghosts,” we examine the resurgence in GOM oil production, and the reasons why recent investments in deepwater drilling may well pay off despite the oil price crash.