Question-and-Answer Session
Operator
Thank you. Today's question-and-answer session will be conducted electronically. (Operator Instructions). Our first question comes from Dave Kistler with Simmons and Company.
David Kistler - Simmons and Company
Quick question kind of focused more 2010, 2011 on production. Looking at activity in the Wattenberg, Haynesville, even in the Piceance can you talk a little bit about what that can do for keeping production flat to maybe even upwards as we kind of work our way through to 2011 and '12 when Santa Cruz Isabel, Aseng, Tamar, etcetera start to come online?
Chuck Davidson
I'll start out and I know Dave will want to fill in a little bit because as you’ve referenced our expectation is basically to keep our volumes flat as we then approach the period where some of these major projects start adding the incremental volumes and that of course, starts with Isabel/Santa Cruz in 2011.
In the US we would continue in the deepwater to see some declines until we do add the new deepwater project at Isabel/Santa Cruz, although as Dave pointed out, we'll have some projects along the way, such as the Swordfish project that helped to mitigate that. Our view is that the US onshore can hold its own quite well, particularly with the depth of opportunities we have in Wattenberg and some of these other place.
We will maintain some sort of program in Piceance and test some of these other areas that you mentioned. We have the potential to grow those as well as if the natural gas market continues the recovery that it's been showing here in the last month or so.
Dave Stover
I think just the Chuck's point I think that goes to the fact that starting into the year we're assuming we're beginning hold our capital level in the onshore fairly steady to what we've done this year. And as Chuck mentioned that holds a pretty steady production program. The nice thing is we have the flexibility from the projects that if we decide to increase that based on specialty gas prices or so forth that should be able to provide a little growth if we ramped that program up. But, I think the current pace of capital spending it holds it pretty steady.
Chuck Davidson
I as you step outside the United States on international we just aren't faced in the near term with any huge declining assets there. The North Sea we’re still got some investments that we're building on. Israel’s, the market continues to expand there and as Dave pointed out we're building the capacity for deliverability out of Mary-B as we bridge into the Tamar sales in 2012, and Equatorial Guinea, the Alba fields continues to perform extremely well. The international provides a nice solid base that we are not having to scramble to offset any huge declines on.
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