5 Oil Companies that Will Explore the Gulf of Mexico in 2010
by: Investopedia January 13, 2010

Investors should expect the energy industry to continue its success in exploring the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, attracted by the promising resources of the Lower Tertiary and Miocene formations, complemented with the political and economic stability of doing business under U.S. jurisdiction.

There are many milestones to watch in 2010. Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) will start producing from its Perdido project in the first quarter of 2010, with long-term peak production expected to be 130,000 barrels oil equivalent per day. The company is also working on setting up the infrastructure for its large discoveries at Jack and St. Malo, where peak production is expected to be as much as 150,000 BOE per day, with recoverable reserves of 500 million BOE.

Players To Watch
BP Inc. (NYSE:BP) will continue with phase two of its Atlantis North Phase 2 project in the Gulf of Mexico. The company will also drill another appraisal well in 2010 on its giant Kaskida find in the Gulf of Mexico.

Anadarko Petroleum (NYSE:APC) will spend 2010 exploring its extensive acreage in the Gulf of Mexico, and constructing the Caesar/Tonga Project, which will tie in several of its wells to the Constitution Spar.

The Gulf of Mexico is also attracting some smaller exploration and production companies. Cobalt International Energy (NYSE:CIE) just raised over $800 million in capital to explore in the Gulf of Mexico. The company plans to drill four wells in 2010 with its partners.

Another small cap exploration and production company that investors will hear from in 2010 is ATP Oil & Gas Corporation (Nasdaq:ATPG). The company had 53% of its proved reserves in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico at the end of 2008.

ATP Oil & Gas just finished construction of the ATP Titan, a deepwater drilling and production facility, which is being moved out to the Telemark Hub in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The ATP Titan is designed for capacity of 25,000 barrels of oil per day, and 50 million cubic feet per day of natural gas.

The Bottom Line
The Gulf of Mexico will continue to attract both large integrated oil companies and the smaller independent exploration and production companies, as the area has several deepwater trends that hold the promise of huge reserves in a politically stable operating environment.

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