Nexen aims for Gulf drilling by year-end

Calgary-based oil and gas producer Nexen said Thursday it could begin drilling exploration wells in the Gulf of Mexico before the end of this year now that a ban on deepwater drilling has been lifted.

The U.S. government invoked the moratorium after a blowout at a well owned by BP this spring led to a massive oil spill.

That forced Nexen to delay work on its Kakuna and Angel Fire discoveries in the eastern Gulf.

Washington lifted the ban earlier in October.

"We expect to be drilling here as early as year-end and no later than the second quarter of next year," chief financial officer Kevin Reinhart told analysts on a conference call.

"We continue to be confident that the deepwater Gulf is an attractive hydrocarbon basin and that we have the right standards of behaviour and financial capacity to pursue the strong value proposition that this area offers."

Nexen also reported Thursday a more-than-fourfold gain in third-quarter profit.

Asset sales contributed to earnings of $537 million, or $1.02 a share, for the third quarter ended Sept. 30.

That compared with $122 million, or 23 cents a share, a year earlier.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were on average expecting 30 cents per share.