EIA expects nine new Gulf of Mexico natural gas and crude oil fields to start in 2022

During 2021, 15% of all US crude oil production was produced in the GOM, and 2% of US natural gas production was produced there. In EIA’s STEO, the company forecast that eight new fields in the GOM will produce both oil and natural gas by year-end, based partly on data from Rystad Energy. A ninth field, which will produce only crude oil, is expected to start in 2022.

Additional capacity will not quite sustain crude oil production at levels similar to the end of 2021. The additional capacity from these new fields will not increase natural gas or crude oil production in the GOM. EIA expects GOM natural gas production to continue its three-year decline; annual GOM production last rose in 2019. Declining production from existing GOM fields is greater than the increase in production from new fields for natural gas and is equal for crude oil.

Since the late 1990s, new development in the GOM has been targeting oil-bearing reservoirs. Today, most of the natural gas produced in the GOM comes from associated-dissolved natural gas production in oil fields instead of natural gas fields. In 2020, gross withdrawals of natural gas in the GOM that came from natural gas wells accounted for less than 30% of total GOM natural gas production, compared with 76% in 1999.

EIA expects that the large development fields of Argos, King’s Quay, and Vito will begin production in 2022. Each has a peak production capacity of 100 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d) or more, and each is the result of a focused effort to lower the costs of field developments. Offshore producers have made significant progress simplifying and standardising floating production systems and collaborating with various partners, including overseas construction services companies, to reduce total costs and remain competitive with onshore producers.

However, fields expected to start in 2022 may shift into EIA's 2023 forecast if their start-up dates are pushed back. In addition, fields expected to start in 2024 could begin earlier, resulting in changes to the company's initial production forecasts.

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