Mitsui Oil Exploration

Mitsui Oil Exploration Co., Ltd. (三井石油開発株式会社, Mitsui Sekiyu Kaihatsu Kabushiki-gaisha) (MOECO) is an oil exploration subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. that specializes in natural gas. It has its headquarters in the Hibiya Central Building in Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato, Tokyo.^[1]

It was one of 17 Mitsui companies that were spun off on July 19, 1969.^[2]

Its core areas are Thailand, where it drills principally in the Gulf of Thailand in conjunction with Chevron,^[3] and Vietnam and Cambodia. ^[4] As of March 31, 2010 Mitsui & Co. owns 73.35% of the company. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry owns 20.03%. Mitsuo Hidaka is the President & Chief Executive Officer.^[5]

In the United States Mitsui's subsidiary is MOEX USA Corp^[6] and is headquartered in 9 Greenway Plaza in Houston.

In September 2007 it established subsidiary MOEX Offshore 2007 LLC which entered into a partnership with BP for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.^[7] On April 20, 2010, its rig the Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank, causing a massive oil spill. In May, 2011, MOEX Offshore, having had a 10% stake in the Deepwater Horizon through a subsidiary, agreed to pay US$1.07 billion to settle BP claims against it over the accident. Some analysts had thought BP would realize a larger settlement from MOEX but there was also relief to have a first step toward resolving the multiple claims.^[8]

In February, 2010, through subsidiary Mitsui E&P USA LLC ("MEPUSA") it acquired 32.5% of Anadarko Petroleum's interest in the Marcellus Shale gas project in Pennsylvania (thereby acquiring 15.5% interest in the entire project lease and approximately 100,000 acres (40,469 ha) of land).^[9]

• Mitsui Oil Exploration Co.
• Mitsui Oil Exploration Co. (in Japanese)