CIECO Energy (US) Limited (incorporated in Delaware, the United States; hereinafter referred to as "the Subsidiary"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of ITOCHU Corporation, concluded a contract with Range Resources Corporation (“Range”), an independent U.S. oil and gas resource development firm, to acquire all of the outstanding shares of two of Range’s subsidiary companies. Effective March 30, 2007, the Subsidiary will own, through acquired companies, the lease interests in 15 offshore petroleum producing fields in the Gulf of Mexico within U.S. territory, including the West Delta 30 (net working interest of 49%, Operator: Exxon Mobil). From this acquisition, ITOCHU will have production of crude oil and natural gas totaling about 2,300 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

After the Subsidiary was successful in the bidding process initiated by Range in connection with this matter, Range and the Subsidiary conducted negotiations and concluded the above contract.. The Subsidiary expects to have stable earnings through use as a price hedge under the prevailing circumstances, in which prices for resources have leveled off on a high plateau.
Through the Subsidiary, ITOCHU has also acquired exploration lease interests in Texas State Water in the Gulf of Mexico in January 2007. In this district, ITOCHU, together with other partners, including Santos USA Corp as operator of the leases, is planning to drill three exploration wells during this year.

In upstream oil and natural gas business in the United States, the Subsidiary is planning to invest more than 20 billion yen this year the purchase of the aforementioned producing fields and to fund exploratory and development work.
Working together with the U.S. gas marketing firm which ITOCHU acquired last year, we intend to make inroads into the gas value chain in the U.S. natural gas market. We hope to use these newly producing field lease as the basis for an expansion of our exploration and development activities in Gulf of Mexico within U.S. territory.

In the energy development division of ITOCHU, we are currently participating in crude oil and gas development and production projects in Azerbaijan, U.K. North Sea, Australia, Indonesia, Algeria, and Russia. We are also participating in liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects in Qatar and Oman. It is ITOCHU's policy to continue the balanced acquisition of rights to excellent overseas districts for resource exploration, development, and production.

Reference: map of districts acquired

• 2012
• 2011
• 2010
• 2009
• 2008
• 2007
• 2006
• 2005
• 2004