A spate of robberies and attacks on oil assets in the Bay of Campeche in April 2020 led to the U.S. While only a few dozen attacks have been reported, some reports suggest the number to be in the hundreds. The threat to offshore oil and gas platforms and assets, however, has been severely underreported by authorities and the company. The activities of criminal elements have been costly to the state-owned company PEMEX, and the activities have also cost the lives of both workers and law enforcement who have attempted to stop them. Cartels have been involved in fuel trafficking and fuel theft via illegal pipeline taps for years, particularly in the states of central Mexico where there are a high number of pipelines and several refineries. The threat to oil and gas infrastructure in Mexico has been known for some time, particularly on land. The downtime of the platform and the time it takes to restart operations post-hurricane costs company’s significant amounts of money. Whilst platforms can resist significant wind speeds and high swells, precaution often leads oil and gas companies to shut down operations and evacuate personnel prior to significant hurricanes. With thousands of oil and gas platforms located in the Gulf of Mexico, these platforms are often at risk due to their locations and the paths of hurricanes often striking the coasts of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. We can expect more of these volatile weather patterns due to climate change. With 2020 taking the number one spot, followed by 2005 in second place and 2021 ranking as the third most active hurricane season. NOAA predict a near-normal 2023 Atlantic hurricane season. 2022 saw 14 named tropical systems, including 8 hurricanes, with 2 major hurricanes. In recent years activity seems to have settled slightly, although the risk is still high. The season is estimated to have cost over USD 51 billion in damages. The 2020 hurricane season was record-breaking, with 31 named storms, 14 hurricanes, 7 major hurricanes and 11 of the named storms striking the U.S. We will use open-source data and the Intelligence Fusion platform, along with expert analyst insight, to review three of the current operational threats oil and gas companies in this region face. But, today, in 2023, the significant number of assets in the Gulf of Mexico and their associated onshore operations face several threats, often due to location and the security situation in the nearby country. Over the medium term, the Gulf of Mexico’s oil and gas market is expected to continue to thrive due to high resources however, raising concerns around fossil fuels and ESG compliance alongside volatile oil and gas prices may begin to impede growth in the near future. The Gulf of Mexico is a highly competitive region with dominant players including Shell, BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Delfin LNG. While the United States is the largest oil and gas producer in the Gulf, Mexico also has significant assets and investments in deep water and shallow water drilling to help support its onshore drilling assets.
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