• our vulnerability to severe weather events, especially tropical storms and hurricanes in the
U.S. Gulf of Mexico;
• the cost and availability of adequate insurance coverage;
• the results or outcome of any legal proceedings or investigations we may be subject to;
• our ability to meet our obligations under the agreements governing our indebtedness; and
• other risk factors discussed in the ‘‘Risk Factors’’ section of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The words ‘‘believe,’’ ‘‘may,’’ ‘‘will,’’ ‘‘aim,’’ ‘‘estimate,’’ ‘‘continue,’’ ‘‘anticipate,’’ ‘‘intend,’’
‘‘expect,’’ ‘‘plan’’ and similar words are intended to identify estimates and forward-looking statements.
Estimates and forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and, except to the
extent required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or to review any estimate and/or forward-
looking statement because of new information, future events or other factors. Estimates and forward-
looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and are not guarantees of future performance. As a
result of the risks and uncertainties described above, the estimates and forward-looking statements
discussed in this Annual Report on Form 10-K might not occur and our future results and our
performance may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements due to,
including, but not limited to, the factors mentioned above. Because of these uncertainties, you should
not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.
Item 1.
Business
OVERVIEW
We are an independent exploration and production company with operations in the deepwater
U.S. Gulf of Mexico and offshore Angola and Gabon in West Africa. Since our founding in 2005, our
oil-focused, below-salt exploration efforts have been successful in each of our three operating areas,
resulting in ten discoveries out of the seventeen exploration prospects drilled. These ten discoveries
consist of North Platte, Heidelberg, Shenandoah and Anchor in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico; Cameia,
Lontra, Mavinga, Bicuar and Orca offshore Angola; and Diaman offshore Gabon. In addition, we have
an interest in the Yucatan discovery in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
With these discoveries, our primary focus areas are:
1.
Project Appraisal and Development
—to progress our discoveries, which are currently in
various stages of appraisal and development, toward project sanction and into proved reserves,
production, and cash flow;
2.
Continued Exploration
—to simultaneously maintain an ongoing exploration program on our
current acreage; and
3.
New Ventures
—to seek the renewal of our worldwide exploration portfolio in locations
applicable to our deepwater and below-salt exploration strength.
Since inception, we have focused primarily on drilling exploration wells on our extensive below-salt
exploration portfolio, which has resulted in the ten discoveries referenced above. With these discoveries
in hand, our focus has now shifted towards selectively developing these discoveries and establishing
production from them. Thus, our current strategy is to direct the majority of our capital expenditures
toward project appraisal and development activities with the aim to increase our proved reserves and
establish production and cash flow while continuing exploration on our existing acreage and seeking
new venture opportunities for long-term growth.
3
