米国メキシコ湾オフショア―拡大するニッチ・ビジネス―

Abstract

The continental shelf of the U. S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) is considered one of the most matured and overexploited oil and gas basins in the world. In fact, most of the large E & P companies have shifted their operational area to the deepwater since mid 1990s when Mineral Management Services (MMS) announced an incentive scheme on the federal royalties.Despite such circumstances, it is true that the GOM continental shelf still remains an important revenue source to such companies and it turns out that the area is the second largest oil and gas producing area (after Alaska) in the North America.One of the unique features in GOM is that the “niche” business exists and is growing along with the change of large companies' focus in their activities. Some niche players with sound business models have been demonstrating substantial growth in recent years, which, together with current eye-catching “deep Miocene” exploration, are helping to take the GOM into a new era.Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) has been aware of such a unique business environment in the GOM through their in-house studies, as well as their thorough monitoring on the local industry. MC has now reached such a level of confidence that they can establish a sustainable business without exposing themselves to an excessive risk associated with exploratory drillings. They have thoroughly examined several niche businesses to build an optimum business model to them. As a result, they have come to a conclusion of building a business model based on monetizing marginal proven undeveloped oil and gas discoveries (PUD).