Venari Resources

About Venari Resources

Venari Resources LLC was a private equity-backed oil and gas exploration and production company established in May 2012 by Brian Reinsborough, a seasoned professional in the energy sector. With an extensive background that includes roles at Mobil Oil and Nexen, and as an Executive-in-Residence at Warburg Pincus, Reinsborough's experience in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico was foundational to Venari's strategy. He founded the company to specifically target the oil-prone subsalt region in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, a move that went against market sentiment at the time, which was shaped by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident and subsequent drilling moratorium.

The company commenced operations with a significant capital commitment of $1.125 billion from a consortium of private equity firms, including Warburg Pincus, Kelso & Company, Temasek Holdings, and The Jordan Company. This initial funding was one of the largest for an oil and gas startup at the time and was followed by a second round in 2014 that raised an additional $1.3 billion, bringing total equity commitments to over $2.4 billion. Venari’s business model focused on being a non-operating partner, taking minority working interests in drill-ready deepwater exploration projects with high reserve potential. This approach allowed the firm to partner with major operators like Chevron, ConocoPhillips, and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation.

Venari quickly built a substantial portfolio of drillable prospects and leases. Within a year of its founding, the company had participated in two major discoveries: the Shenandoah and Coronado prospects in the Walker Ridge area of the Gulf of Mexico. The Shenandoah discovery, in particular, was noted for its potential, encountering over 1,000 feet of high-quality oil-bearing sands. The company leveraged advanced 3D Wide Azimuth (WAZ) seismic databases and proprietary in-house geophysical techniques to identify and de-risk these opportunities. By 2014, Venari had become one of the top leaseholders in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Despite its exploration successes, the prolonged downturn in oil prices that began in 2014 created a challenging environment for deepwater projects, which have high breakeven costs. In December 2019, Talos Energy announced the acquisition of all of Venari Resources' primary term acreage and prospects as part of a larger $640 million deal involving several companies. Following this asset sale, Venari Resources ceased operations in early 2020.