Biden Drilling BanBiden drilling ban leaves majority of U.S. production untouched Sheela Tobben, Bloomberg News President Joe Bidens temporary halt to drilling on federal lands leaves the vast majority of U.S. crude production untouched, though it may be the death knell for the Gulf of Mexicos already dwindling output. Should the halt announced Wednesday become permanent, the U.S. would stand to lose as much as 200,000 barrels a day of output by the end of this decade, according to Artem Abramov, head of shale research for Rystad Energy. Its a small fraction of Americas roughly 11 million barrels a day of production. The region that would bear the brunt of this ban are the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico since its entirely owned by the government, said Elisabeth Murphy, ESAI Energy LLC upstream analyst for North America. It would mean a 40 per cent output drop for the Gulf by 2030, she said. Its a corner of the U.S. oil industry that has already seen investments shrink in recent years, with drillers focusing mostly on shale. For the oil market, Bidens restrictions on the energy industry, a focus on fiscal spending and a probable lack of urgency in lifting sanctions on Iran may actually help support crude prices this year and the next, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said last week. Abramov doesnt see a short-term price impact from a drilling ban. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/biden-drilling-ban-leaves-majority-of-u-s-production-untouched-1.1555203