The largest oil companies have significantly raised their share of crude oil production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in recent years, while smaller firms have been weighed down by the pandemic and the suspension of licensing for drilling in federal waters, executives and analysts tell Reuters . The merger and acquisition wave in the U.S. oil and gas industry has not been limited to the shale patch in recent months and years. The Gulf of Mexico has seen Big Oil pump a growing share of crude from the offshore region compared to just a few years ago. The ten biggest producers in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico have produced as much as 86 percent of the average 1.6 million barrels per day (bpd) pumped in the area so far this year, according to Reuters estimates based on data from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE). Back […]