Analysis of the US Gulf of Mexico’s crude oil production shows that over $40.3bn in capital expenditure (capex) will be spent by the US Gulf of Mexico on oil projects between 2018 and 2021, to ensure that production remains around 2.2 million barrel per day (mmbd) in 2021, according to GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.
The region will have 664 fields by 2021, of which 412 are conventional and heavy oil fields and 252 are gas fields producing condensate.
The US Gulf of Mexico is expected to spend $40.2bn as capex on conventional oil and $7m on heavy oil projects during 2018 to 2021, with spending peaking in 2021 at $29.9bn. Average full cycle capex per barrel of oil equivalent for the US Gulf of Mexico’s oil projects is $8.4. Ultra-deepwater projects have an average full cycle capex of $8.7 per barrel of oil equivalent, while deepwater projects have an average of $8.1 per barrel of oil equivalent in full cycle capex and shallow water projects have an average of $6.1 per barrel of oil equivalent in full cycle capex.
The average development break-even price for oil projects in the US Gulf of Mexico is about $34.5 per barrel. Ultra-deepwater projects require an oil price of $51.8 per barrel to break even, while the deepwater projects have a development break-even price of $34.2 per barrel. Shallow water projects with a development break-even price of $29.5 per barrel.