The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) has issued its short term outlook with a special section on preliminary estimates of reductions in production resulting from a 6-month deepwater drilling moratorium announced by Secretary Salazar on May 27. The report estimates an average reduction of about 26,000 b/d of oil in Q4 2010 and roughly 70,000 b/d of oil in 2011. From a consumer standpoint, the EIA projects WTI crude oil spot prices to average US $79 per bbl this year and $83 per bbl in 2011, which are both down approximately $3 from May's Outlook. Regular-grade motor gasoline retail prices are expected to average $2.79 per gal throughout the summer driving season (April 1 through September 30). This is an increase of only $0.35 from last summer and this current projection is down $0.15 from EIA projections last month. So far, the short term looks relatively manageable. However, the EIA has also issued its 2010 Outlook for Hurricane-Related Production Outages in the Gulf of Mexico, which estimates a possible total shut-in of 26 million bbl of crude and 166 Bcf of natural gas for the season (June through November). The EIA plans to update its reporting with the addition of new information. For a full view of its most recent outlook visit http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/steo/pub/