Gulf of Mexico-focused independent Venari has more cash to spend on exploration and appraisal opportunities after a new fund-raising round netted US $1.3 billion.

Venari, which was formed only two years ago, now boasts one of the best acreage positions in the U.S. Gulf, and has raised the new funding through a combination of equity commitments from both its existing management, existing investors and new private equity and investment companies. The explorer says its new funding will allow it to appraise and develop the deepwater Shenandoah and Coronado discoveries and execute its high-impact exploration inventory.

Venari’s existing backers, which include Warburg Pincus, Kelso & Co., Temasek and The Jordan Co., have been joined by GIC, a sovereign wealth fund based in Singapore, and BlackRock Private Equity Partners.

With the new commitments, Venari says it now has a total of $2.4 billion from equity raising rounds, including a $1.1 billion equity line sourced when it was founded in May 2012, two years after the Gulf of Mexico moratorium on exploration drilling after Macondo.

Privately-owned Venari is headquartered in Dallas, and was formed to focus on oil-prone sub-salt in the US Gulf, with its assets including Coronado and Shenandoah in the Walker Ridge area.

It also has interests in three exploration programs in the US Gulf: Titan in De Soto Canyon Block 178, operated by Murphy Oil, where the Discoverer Deep Seas is drilling in a water depth of 2,199 m (6,560 ft), where Venari has a 20% stake; in Guadalupe, in Keathley Canyon Block 10, operated by Chevron, where the Transocean Discoverer India is operating in a water depth of 1,209 m (3,965 ft) and where Venari holds 15%; and the company also has 12.5% in Anchor, a prospect in Green Canyon Block 807, again operated by Chevron with 55%, where the Pacific Santa Ana is drilling in a water depth of 1,594 m (5,230 ft).

Offshore