Southern Energy eyes expansion in the Deep South

The Canadian independent has ambitious plans in Mississippi

Calgary-based Southern Energy is planning rapid expansion in Mississippi, in a move that could help revive the state’s once-formidable upstream sector. CEO Ian Atkinson and COO Gary McMurren sat down with Petroleum Economist to explain their plans. After decades of significant production, the majors have abandoned Mississippi’s upstream over the past ten years amid the shale boom, but left behind them a wealth of infrastructure, geological surveys and drilling data. Southern has three main fields—Gwinville, Mechanicsburg and Williamsburg—in the Mississippi Interior Salt Basin, a historically highly productive basin. The company has a production target of 25,000bl/d oe within four years, up f