Rosetta Resources Now A Wholly-Owned Subsidiary Of Noble -- July 20, 2015

Rigzone is reporting:

Rosetta Resources Inc. will officially be a wholly owned subsidiary of Noble Energy Inc. by close of business July 20, according to a news statement from Noble.

The acquisition introduces Noble into the highly coveted Eagle Ford Shale and the Permian Basin with more than 50,000 net acres in each. Noble expects more than 15 percent annual production growth for an average of more than 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2018.

This article appeared the same day as the following article appeared, also from Rigzone:

Energy producers are abandoning the search for oil and natural gas close to shore in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico as drilling budgets shrink and exploration migrates to land-based shale fields. The number of permits for new wells in seas less than 500 feet (152 meters) deep plunged 74 percent to nine during the first six months of this year from a year earlier

A bit more:

It’s a different story in the deep waters of the Gulf, where exploration is proceeding apace with 2014, undaunted by the rout in crude prices. During the first six months of this year, 31 permits were approved for new wells, unchanged from a year earlier.

The BSEE defines anything beyond 500 feet as deep water. That differs from much of the industry, which regards 1,000 feet as the cutoff point.