US Gulf of Mexico independents see life left on the shelf

摘要

US upstream independents are consoli-dating on the US Gulf of Mexico conti-nental shelf as they aim to wring more production from mature legacy assets once held by larger producers. Energy XXI’s purchase of EPL Oil and Gas for$2.3bn this month brings total merger and acquisition activity in the sector over the past year to around $7bn(WPA,14 March,p10).The deal will make Energy XXI the third-largest producer on the shelf,behind private-sector firm Fieldwood Energy and Chev-ron,giving it stakes in 37 fields and adding 65,000 b/d of oil equivalent (boe/d)to its 45,000 boe/d of output.