"The scarcity of new reserves has been driving companies into plays that have previously been seen as extremely high risk and high cost," said Brian Maxted, the chief executive officer of Kosmos Energy, a deepwater-exploration company in Dallas.
The Woodlands, Texas-based Anadarko is hedging its bets in a brand-new plunge into deepwater exploration, a push started by Seitz.
The Acteon investment was spurred by a major expansion in deepwater exploration by the energy industry, which has scoured the globe in search of natural resources.
"There will always be a level of uncertainty," says Stuart Strife, exploration manager, deepwater exploration, Gulf of Mexico, Anadarko, a company that uses both methods.
Such a requirement could exclude smaller deepwater exploration companies that have less financial clout because they do not bring in their heavyweight partners until they start drilling.
Shifting from the party's line, Mr. Ramírez, who is the secretary of the energy commission in Mexico's Senate, said there may be room for national oil companies — he singled out Statoil of Norway, Petrobras of Brazil and Petróleos de Venezuela, or PDVSA — to work with Pemex on deepwater exploration and a few other areas.
Britain struck £2.6bn of deals with China this week, include a move to increase sales of Jaguar Land Rover vehicles to China; an announcement by BP and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation on deepwater exploration in the South China Sea and a so-called framework deal between PetroChina and Britain's Ineos to form refining joint ventures.
To encourage deepwater exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, a 1995 law offered generous incentives in the form of relief from royalties, then roughly 12 percent of the per-barrel price.
And Freeport will pay $14.75 a share in cash and 1.15 units of a trust that will hold a 5 percent interest in future production from McMoRan's deepwater exploration operations.
