Author Topic: Oil Producers Signal Offshore Return In Latest Gulf Of Mexico Auction  (Read 676 times)

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Offline thackney

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Oil Producers Signal Offshore Return In Latest Gulf Of Mexico Auctionhttp://www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/151427/Oil_Producers_Signal_Offshore_Return_In_Latest_Gulf_Of_Mexico_Auction
August 16, 2017

Major oil producers pushed up high bids at a Gulf of Mexico offshore auction to $121 million on Wednesday, a nearly seven-fold increase from a year ago, as their return to deep water exploration gained momentum.

This compared with $18 million in high bids at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's (BOEM) Outer Continental Shelf auction last summer.

Winners will be announced after a 90-day review.

Some producers have signaled that they expect Gulf of Mexico projects to become more profitable now that they have trimmed operations to adapt to low oil prices. Offshore drilling typically requires higher prices for producers to break even.

Royal Dutch Shell claimed the largest number of blocks, with 19 high bids valued at a combined $25.1 million. Chevron Corp followed with 15 high bids totaling $27.9 million. Anadarko Petroleum Corp won 10 blocks for $10.6 million. Exxon Mobil Corp took seven blocks of land for $20.4 million.

Most of the bids were for deep water blocks, at depths of more than 1,600 meters. The auction drew interest from 27 oil companies, with 99 bids on 90 blocks in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the BOEM.

"The deepwater industry is emphasizing short-cycle, low-risk prospects above high-impact, wildcat drilling," said William Turner, a senior analyst at consultancy Wood Mackenzie....
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Offline dfwgator

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Re: Oil Producers Signal Offshore Return In Latest Gulf Of Mexico Auction
« Reply #1 on: August 17, 2017, 05:34:18 pm »
Drill, Baby, Drill!

Offline IsailedawayfromFR

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Re: Oil Producers Signal Offshore Return In Latest Gulf Of Mexico Auction
« Reply #2 on: August 17, 2017, 07:07:38 pm »
I recall the times when the industry had surpluses of time on its hands due to low prices and not much money to drill.

That is the time geologists and engineers did intensive studies they had no time to do when activity was high.

A lot of brainpower was used to enact shortcuts and new waves of thinking, results of which were exhibited during the next price increase and return to drilling.

That's what I think this is about - not higher prices, but innovative ways to approach the challenges of deep water.

Shell in particular was the frontrunner of ingenuity in deepwater GOM.  They chose to experiment there where there is less money of failure compared to deepwater Nigeria or elsewhere, places one did not wish to not succeed.
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