The Gulf of Mexico and the deep water developments are a major market for the Norwegian oil industry. Houston is an important hub for INTSOK - and INTSOK has a representative in the market. The United States of America is the world s largest energy producer, consumer, and net importer. It also ranks eleventh worldwide in reserves of oil, sixth in natural gas, and first in coal.
The US Gulf of Mexico page provides market and project information, an overview of planned activities organised by INTSOK s Houston office, links to key actors in the US and presentations from INTSOK events.
About United States of America
• Population: 311 million
• United States is the world’s 2nd largest consumer of energy
• Large oil and gas reserves in deep waters in the Gulf of Mexico
• Arctic oil and gas resources
• Huge resources of unconventional oil and gas resources from shale
• Energy consumption per capita is expected to decline by an average of 0,5 percent per year to 2035.
• The Gulf of Mexico is a major market for the Norwegian oil industry
• Houston is a global hub for the oil and gas industry
Oil
United States has more than 30 billion barrels of proven conventional oil reserves. Domestic crude oil production has increased over the past few years, reversing a decline that began in 1986. Crude oil production increased from 5.1 million barrels per day in 2007 to 5.5 million barrels per day in 2010. Over the next 10 years, continued development of tight oil, in combination with the ongoing development of offshore resources in the Gulf of Mexico, pushes domestic crude oil production to 6.7 million barrels per day in 2020, a level not seen since 1994. The US Energy Information Agency (EIA) is forecasting less dependence on imported liquid fuels as a result of growing domestic production and growing use of biofuels.
Thanks to hydraulic fracturing and high oil prices, oil production in the Bakken shale has gone from 3,000 barrels a day in 2005 to 225,000 in 2010. EIA thinks it will produce 350,000 barrels a day by 2035. US officials estimate that the Central Gulf of Mexico holds more than 30 billion barrels of oil and 133.9 trillion cubic feet of natural gas yet to be discovered. GoM delivered almost 30% of the oil produced in 2010.
Oil overview 2010
• Proven oil reserves: 31 billion barrels
• Oil production: 7,5 million barrels per day
• Oil consumption: 19,1 million barrels per day
Major oil producers
• ExxonMobil
• Shell
• BP
• Chevron
• ConocoPhillips
Natural Gas
Natural gas production is expected to grow throughout the next 20 years. Much of the growth in natural gas production is a result of the application of recent technological advances and continued drilling in shale plays with high concentrations of natural gas liquids and crude oil, which have a higher value in energy equivalent terms than dry natural gas. Shale gas production is expected to increase from 23 percent of total U.S. dry gas production in 2010 to 49 percent in 2035.
Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Shales are fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas. Over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has allowed access to large volumes of shale gas that were previously uneconomical to produce. The production of natural gas from shale formations has rejuvenated the natural gas industry in the United States.
NGLs are the heavier hydrocarbons that are extracted when natural gas is processed, and can be fractionated into ethane, normal butane, iso-butane, and propane. They are important inputs to many industrial activities. In 2010, production of NGLs was at its highest level on record, at more than 2 million barrels per day.
The gas industry in United States
• Proven natural gas reserves: 7,7 trillion cubic meters
• Natural gas production: 611 billion cubic meters
• Natural gas consumption: 683 billion cubic meters
Main Markets
Other Priority Markets
