W&T Offshore preparing for M&A opportunities in next 15 months

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Oct. 14 - W&T Offshore Inc. president Jamie Vasquez said Tuesday that the company is keeping a "watchful eye" on merger and acquisition opportunities and believes it has the liquidity needed to be able to act quickly if the right opportunity is found.

The company's liquidity includes more than $650 million of cash and an undrawn $500,000 revolving credit facility.

"We feel like there's going to be quite a bit of M&A activity in the next 12 to 15 months and that we can use these available funds," Vasquez said during a presentation at the Natixis Bleichroeder Hidden Gems Conference in New York.

"We're in a position to act quickly with our line of credit and with our cash when the opportunities arise."

Other uses of the company's cash could include debt reduction, exploratory drilling, a special dividend or stock repurchase, Vasquez said.

W&T is finalizing its 2009 budget, which is expected to be completed within the next month.

The company will not operate outside of its cash flow but expects to have a strong drilling program in 2009, she said.

W&T is a Houston-based independent oil and natural gas company.

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