We don’t often cover offshore news, but when we do, it’s big.

Burning up headlines over the last few months, offshore heavyweight Talos Energy is a Gulf of Mexico Christopher Columbus, ever exploring, discovering, and producing 63.7 MBOED in 3Q 2023 from its operations in the U.S. and Mexico. Among the largest independents plumbing the ocean depths for oil and gas, Talos has firmly set anchor as an E&P on a mission of conquest.   

Reese Energy Consulting today is following the latest from Talos, which kicked off its 4Q by scoring the highest bid in late December on 13 deepwater blocks in the long-delayed Federal Lease Sale 261. Once awarded, the new assets will add 74,000 gross acres to the company’s 1.2 million currently under lease.

Then, it was “Hello, lover” to 2024 as Talos, only three days into the new year, fired up production on two of its GOM discoveries—the Lime Rock and Venice—which, combined, are estimated to hold a recoverable 20-30 MMBOE. The two new wells, brought online in less than 12 months, have reached an initial 18 MBOED. Lime Rock and Venice are tied back to the company’s Ram Powell facility. With the added production, Talos expects Ram Powell to achieve the highest combined sustainable production in 15 years.

And there’s more to the story.

Talos has now announced it will acquire Houston-based QuarterNorth Energy, a deepwater GOM player with ownership in six major fields. The $1.29 billion cash-and-stock deal adds another 30 MBOED and 69 MMBOE in proved reserves and fits swimmingly in Talos’ grand strategy to build an even larger offshore machine—one capable of weathering the storms this E&P continues to survive after 12 years in business and generating a lot of cash flow to fund its next big discoveries.