Alta Mar Energy

What Alta Mar Energy does

Alta Mar Energy, LLC is a Houston-based, privately held full-cycle upstream company that makes non-operated equity investments in oil and gas exploration, development, and production projects in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 2023 and backed by private equity firm Carnelian Energy Capital Management (which has $2.9 billion of cumulative capital commitments), the company partners with best-in-class offshore operators rather than operating assets directly, generating revenue proportional to its working-interest ownership. Its operating model focuses on identifying and co-investing alongside established operators using the team's deep Gulf of Mexico technical expertise in subsurface evaluation, prospect generation, reservoir modeling, and development planning.

Alta Mar's first major portfolio position is a 7.55% non-operated working interest in the Winterfell development in Green Canyon blocks 943, 944, 987, and 988, a Miocene-aged sub-salt field developed via subsea tieback to the Heidelberg spar. The phased project achieved first oil in July 2024, with the first phase (five wells) expected to deliver approximately 100 million barrels of oil equivalent and the three initial wells projected at roughly 22,000 boepd gross. Technical approaches leveraged in portfolio investments include subsea tieback infrastructure to tie new discoveries to existing host platforms (for cost efficiency) and horizontal drilling combined with open-hole completions in complex sub-salt formations.

The company has a headcount of 1–10 and operates from a single Houston headquarters inside the TotalEnergies Tower. Revenue is generated entirely through working-interest shares of oil and gas production volumes sold at commodity prices; there is no product pricing model or recurring SaaS-style revenue component. Distribution is purely relationship-driven enterprise deal flow, with the CEO and co-founders leveraging decades of prior roles at Kosmos Energy, Deep Gulf Energy, Nexen, Noble Energy, Barclays, Venari Resources, Oxy, and others to source and evaluate non-operated investment opportunities alongside operators such as Kosmos Energy, Beacon Offshore Energy, and BOE Exploration & Production.

Name

Alta Mar Energy

Legal name

Alta Mar Energy, LLC

Website

https://altamarenergy.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Alta Mar Energy is a Houston-based, privately held upstream company founded in 2023 that makes non-operated working-interest investments alongside best-in-class operators in U.S. Gulf of Mexico exploration, development, and production projects, backed by Carnelian Energy Capital Management.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Houston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Oil and Gas Production Revenue: Alta Mar generates revenue through non-operated working interests in oil and gas production projects in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company holds equity positions in producing fields and development projects, receiving revenue proportional to its working interest ownership.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Alta Mar Energy is a full-cycle, upstream company that makes non-operated working interest investments in oil and gas exploration, development, and production projects in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The company partners with established offshore operators such as Kosmos Energy, Beacon Offshore Energy, and BOE Exploration & Production to deploy institutional capital across the upstream lifecycle, generating revenue proportional to its working interest ownership in producing fields and development projects.

Product overview

Alta Mar Energy is an upstream oil and gas investment company focused on non-operated investments in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Rather than offering traditional technology products, the company operates as a full-cycle investment vehicle that partners with best-in-class offshore operators to build a portfolio in exploration, development, and production activities. The company has made a notable investment in the Winterfell development project.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Winterfell Development Investment A non-operated working interest investment in the Winterfell oil and gas development located in Green Canyon blocks 943, 944, 987, and 988 in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Miocene-aged field is developed via subsea tieback to the Heidelberg spar, with first phase (three initial wells) projected to deliver gross production of approximately 20,000-22,000 boepd and approximately 100 million barrels of oil equivalent across the first five wells, with upside from subsequent phases.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• Kosmos EnergymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 July 2024Kosmos Energy holds a 25.04% working interest in the Winterfell development. The company announced first oil production at Winterfell in July 2024. Several members of Alta Mar's leadership team previously held senior positions at Kosmos Energy, including CEO Will Sims who was Vice President of Business Development focused on Gulf of Mexico assets.
• Beacon Offshore Energy LLCcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2024Beacon Offshore Energy is the operator of the Winterfell development project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, holding a 35.41% working interest. Alta Mar Energy holds a 7.55% working interest in the project as a non-operated investor. The development is a cost-effective, low-emissions subsea tieback project located in Green Canyon blocks.
• BOE Exploration & Production LLCmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2024BOE Exploration & Production LLC is the operator of the Winterfell development, holding a 0.33% working interest. The company leads development activities for the Miocene-aged project in the Green Canyon area of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
• Westlawn GOM Asset 3 Holdco LLCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2024Westlawn GOM Asset 3 Holdco LLC holds a 15.0% working interest in the Winterfell development project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
• Red Willow Offshore, LLCminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2024Red Willow Offshore, LLC holds a 12.5% working interest in the Winterfell development project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
• CSL Exploration, LPminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 January 2024CSL Exploration, LP holds a 4.5% working interest in the Winterfell development project in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Carnelian Energy Capital Management: Houston-based private equity firm focused on North American upstream oil and gas investments with $2.9B in cumulative capital commitments. Carnelian is Alta Mar's financial backer and operates a similar non-operated/investor approach to building upstream portfolios, making it the closest direct strategic and capital-structure peer.
• Pearl Energy Investments: Dallas-based non-operated oil and gas investment firm that partners with operators to acquire working interests across multiple basins. Pearl's model of taking non-operated working interests alongside operators closely mirrors Alta Mar's approach to participation in projects like Winterfell.
• Post Oak Energy Capital: Houston-based private equity firm focused on non-operated and selective operated upstream investments across the U.S. Post Oak's strategy of partnering with operators and capital partners to acquire working interests is directly comparable to Alta Mar's non-op Gulf of Mexico mandate.
• Bayou City Energy: Houston-based investment manager focused on non-operated working interest acquisitions in U.S. upstream oil and gas. Bayou City's non-operated model and Gulf of Mexico exposure make it a close structural peer to Alta Mar's approach.
• Formentera Partners: Houston-based upstream-focused private equity firm that partners with management teams to acquire and develop oil and gas assets. Formentera's full-cycle upstream investment approach in the U.S. is structurally similar to Alta Mar's non-operated Gulf of Mexico strategy.
• Black Bay Energy Capital: Growth-oriented private equity firm focused on U.S. Gulf of Mexico and Gulf Coast-focused energy investments. Black Bay's geographic and strategic focus on Gulf of Mexico upstream and midstream opportunities aligns closely with Alta Mar's regional mandate.
• Phoenix Capital Group: Houston-based private investment firm focused on upstream oil and gas, providing capital to operators and taking working interests. Phoenix's operator-partnered non-operated approach is comparable to Alta Mar's Winterfell-style investments.

Broad incumbents

• EnCap Investments: One of the largest energy-focused private equity firms in the U.S. with a long track record of funding upstream oil and gas across conventional, unconventional, and midstream. EnCap's broader scale and multi-strategy mandate make it a broad incumbent peer in the upstream investment space where Alta Mar operates.
• Lime Rock Partners: Energy-focused private equity firm investing across upstream oil and gas, oilfield services, and energy technology. Lime Rock's upstream investment experience and Houston presence make it a broad incumbent comparable in the E&P capital ecosystem where Alta Mar operates.
• Kimmeridge Energy Management: Alternative asset manager focused on upstream oil and gas and energy investments across the capital structure. While Kimmeridge spans a broader mandate including public equities, its upstream investment focus overlaps with Alta Mar's private non-operated working interest strategy.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/alta-mar-energy-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Alta Mar Energy