U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region Technical Announcement

Daily Oil and Gas Production Rate Projections From 2002 Through 2006,
Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf

OCS Report MMS 2002-031

The Minerals Management Service (MMS) announces the availability of the publication Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf Daily Oil and Gas Production Rate Projections From 2002 Through 2006. The report projects the daily oil and gas production rates for the Gulf of Mexico in that period, forecasting an increase from 945,000 barrels of oil per day in 1995 to a range of from 2.00 and 2.47 million barrels of oil per day by yearend 2006. The 1995 daily gas production rate of 13.09 billion cubic feet per day is projected at between 10.97 and 16.39 billion cubic feet per day by yearend 2006. (The term "oil production" includes both oil and condensate, and "gas" includes associated and nonassociated gas production.)

Deepwater Gulf of Mexico, defined as water depths 1,000 feet or greater, shows the greatest potentiality of development. In March 2000, deepwater oil production surpassed shallow-water oil production for the first time in history. By yearend 2006, MMS estimates that as much as 77 percent of the daily oil production and 26 percent of the daily gas production will originate in deepwater.

The entire report can be found on the Minerals Management Service Gulf of Mexico OCS Region homepage on the Internet www.gomr.mms.gov. Copies of this report can be obtained from the Minerals Management Service, Gulf of Mexico OCS Region, at no charge, by referencing OCS Report MMS 2002-031. The report will also be available in the near future from the National Technical Information Service. These addresses are provided below.