I'm not very sanguine about a real move upwards.
1. lack of capital strengthens BP bargaining position, irrespective of whether there are multiple potential partners.
2. a hell of a lot of wealth has been lost. There's less money sloshing through the system.
3. stocks have corrected quite a bit, and investors, rightly or wrongly are likely to see them as alternatives to cor.
4. I think that people have grown risk-averse.
5. To the extent that 1-3 are true, while the risks are the same (or worse because of lack of sources of capital), the rewards are likely lower.
I think we're going to be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues for a while.