Oil and gas not only supply us with the energy we use in our daily activities, but also provide us with employment, business, and investment opportunities. Since hydrocarbons are a depletable, finite resource, an increase in price as reserves diminish could be expected; however, the price has dropped, the market is currently soft, cash flow is down, and profits are suffering. Where do we go from here? What does the future hold for us here in the Gulf Coast region?

To help answer these difficult questions or perhaps put them in perspective, we must first look at the past, attempt to forecast the future based on projected energy requirements, and determine where the reserves will come from and at what cost. Of course, the bottom line is the cost per barrel.

To support "Why The Gulf of Mexico", we'll review the region regarding the potential reserves, the availability of leases, the application of technology, the risk or success rate of finding and developing hydrocarbons, and address the overall Gulf of Mexico environment. With the overview of activity along with some statistics, we see that industry has done very well in the discovery of both oil and gas, especially in specific areas. At what cost depends on the up-front investment, the application of technology including seismic technology integrated with geology, and the cost of drilling. A technically sound exploration effort can help unravel the geological history, the stratigraphy, and potential traps that were previously only surmised. Therefore, our goal is to lower the risk and find new traps with good potential.

"Why The Gulf of Mexico" includes the following key elements: It's an operator friendly environment: it has a high rate of commercial discoveries; new areas and trends are developing; state-of-the-art technology can be applied to good quality-high density seismic coverage; costs are down; and the nation's reserves and deliverabilities are shrinking.

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