Mexico

An apparent uptick in approved permits in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has boosted investor enthusiasm about the near-term prospects for offshore activity but the backlog of permits issued but not yet drilled paints a different picture, according to an analysis by FBR Capital Markets.

Backlog of permits issued but not yet drilled paints a different picture, says FBR Capital Markets.

Improved development and drainage of shale plays is among the topics researchers at the University of Texas (UT) will investigate as part of an energy partnership agreement signed by UT and Statoil in Austin, TX, Monday.

Wrapping up a busy Tuesday of transactions with an overarching theme of cooperation on different continents, an ExxonMobil Corp. subsidiary has entered a farm-out agreement with a subsidiary of Canada-based Americas Petrogas for the exploration and potential exploitation of shale in Americas Petrogas’s Los Toldos blocks (163,500 gross acres) located in Neuquen, Argentina.

ExxonMobil Corp. is suing the Department of Interior for canceling three leases in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) that could yield “billions of barrels of oil.” Statoil ASA, ExxonMobil’s partner in the disputed offshore Julia Unit, joined the lawsuit that was filed earlier this month.

ExxonMobil Corp. is suing the Department of Interior for canceling three leases in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) that could yield “billions of barrels of oil.” Statoil ASA, ExxonMobil’s partner in the disputed offshore Julia Unit, filed a similar lawsuit earlier this week.

The 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, which has so far produced five named storms but little damage to the U.S. coastline or energy interests in the Gulf of Mexico, may be poised to ramp up tropical activity, according to forecasters at AccuWeather.com.

A report last month by IHS CERA/IHS Global Insight blaming Department of Energy (DOE) regulators for delays in processing drilling permits in the Gulf of Mexico is incomplete, lacks an explanation of its methodology, and contains “a number of inaccurate and misleading claims,” according to DOE’s Michael Bromwich.

Devon Energy Corp.’s exit from the Gulf of Mexico last year and the recent sale of its Brazilian assets in order to focus on North American onshore drilling have begun to pay significant dividends for the Oklahoma City-based independent, including record high North American onshore production, CEO John Richels said.