From Houston boardrooms to Cajun kitchen tables to Manhattan offices, a fog of uncertainty swirls around the future of the offshore industry. Ripple effects from BP’s tragic Macondo accident in April continue to cast a pall over the Gulf of Mexico.

Operators, service companies, investors and bankers use the same word to describe the outlook: uncertainty. No one doubts that the Gulf continues to hold untold petroleum potential for America, especially in ultra-deepwater plays such as the Lower Tertiary Trend and in ultra-deep wildcats such as the Davy Jones appraisal ...