ExxonMobil says plans to resume Gulf of Mexico drilling in 2011

New York (Platts)--9Mar2011/611 pm EST/2311 GMT

ExxonMobil plans to drill in the US Gulf of Mexico this year, it said Wednesday, as the company looks to resume activity in the aftermath of Macondo-related disruptions that slowed the industry.

A slide presented at ExxonMobil's annual presentation to analysts noted the company is "actively building Gulf of Mexico prospect inventory."

Permitting in the US Gulf of Mexico came to a standstill during the post-Macondo drilling moratorium, and has been slowed after the lifting of the ban due to increased regulatory scrutiny.

ExxonMobil is waiting for approval on two US Gulf well permits, CEO Rex Tillerson said during a press conference following the analyst presentation.

The impact of the delay on ExxonMobil's production will be "modest to none," he said. Looking at overall US Gulf production, he said ExxonMobil would "expect to see the effects of [the delayed permitting] on the Gulf of Mexico oil volumes possibly the second half of this year and certainly next year..."

Meanwhile, remarks by Tillerson during the press conference showed continued strains between Macondo operator BP and the rest of the oil industry. He said comments made on Tuesday by BP CEO Robert Dudley about the industry needing to work on dealing with increasing risks associated with finding new reserves were a "great disservice to this industry."

"...I think that this conclusion that this is a bigger problem for the industry is just wrong," said Tillerson. "It flies in the face of the facts. The facts are we drilled more than 14,000 deepwater wells around the world and it's been done safely, it's been done with proper planning...without any harm to the environment."

He said the Macondo incident involved a "breakdown in management oversight of that well."

"I think the industry manages this risk well...When you do things the proper way, these types of tragedies do not happen," said Tillerson.

--Beth Evans, beth_evans@platts.com

To subscribe or visit go to:  http://www.platts.com