Deepwater

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.’s advantages in the Gulf of Mexico are stacking up, providing cash flow to fund a plethora of U.S. onshore opportunities, as the super independent eyes a stronger production growth rate over the next five years.

A unit of Japanese trading house Mitsui & Co. Ltd. is buying into some potential powerhouse deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets within the Mars-Ursa Basin owned by Royal Dutch Shell plc that could capture at least 100 million boe in recoverable reserves.

Australia’s BHP Billiton on Monday was named the first deepwater partner ever for Mexico’s state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex), winning the right to jointly explore two blocks in the prolific Perdido Fold Belt. Mexico also awarded the rights to explore other Perdido and Salina del Istmo Basin blocks, which all together may hold total reserves of 10.6 billion boe.

BP plc on Thursday sanctioned a “leaner” $9 billion Mad Dog Phase 2 project for the Gulf of Mexico, which it said highlighted its long-term commitment to the country “despite the current low oil price environment.”

Global offshore oil production, including lease condensate and hydrocarbon natural gas liquids, last year reached its highest level in 16 years and accounted for almost 30% of worldwide output, with the United States one of the leaders, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The global oil supply is tightening, and markets should move closer to balance by the end of this year, but it’s too early for “any improvement in price” to affect exploration investments because operator confidence and balance sheets still need to be repaired, Schlumberger Ltd.’s operations chief said Tuesday.

Royal Dutch Shell plc agreed Monday to take $425 million from EnVen Energy Corp. for the Brutus platform and Glider production system in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

With 54% of the natural gas and 82% of the oil production in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) coming from wells drilled in 1,000 feet (305 meters) of water or more, offshore operators are honing their techniques in the deepwater, according to an analysis by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM).

Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., mirroring recent comments by Noble Corp. plc and Ensco plc, is expecting volatility “for some time to come” for the offshore oil and gas industry, regardless of whether commodity prices have stabilized, CEO Marc Edwards said Monday.