Amid strong indicators that U.S. shale production will reach new heights by the end of 2017, efforts to promote further exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico, long a center of U.S. energy output, have run into some headwinds. Some even doubt that Gulf production, much of it from expensive off-shore rigs, can compete in the “lower for longer” price climate that will likely endure through the end of 2017. With a much longer lag-time for off-shore projects, production in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is less sensitive to short-term changes in price. But with the consensus around lower prices growing, it’s possible likely that investment in offshore may taper off, as investment seeks out more reliable returns from shale fields. On Wednesday the first bids on new oil and gas leases in the Gulf of Mexico were offered. The Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, revealed plans […]