Private Companies Discover Large Shallow-Water Oil Reserves Off Mexico’s Gulf Coast The American Interest
go to original July 12, 2017

Consortium strikes oil in Mexico: 'We expect it to be a profitable venture' (Sky News)

Update: Mexico Delays Next Oil Auction, Letting Huge New Find Sink In (World Oil)

An international consortium of oil companies has struck oil in shallow waters off the coast of Mexico in what could be one of the five largest discoveries in the past five years, and among the top fifteen in the last two decades. The find could be good for 1.4 to 2 billion barrels of light crude.

“What really makes this unique is that this is truly an exploration project,” Tim Duncan, president and chief executive of Talos, the block’s operator, told the Financial Times. It was what the industry terms a “wild cat” drill — in an area that had never before been explored. The nearest well drilled was 20km away and had come up dry. […]

Zama is twice as big as Trion, a deepwater field in the north of the Gulf that BHP Billiton partnered with Pemex to develop, in the first joint venture in the Mexican company’s 79-year history.

Investment in Trion is estimated at more than $11bn, and Zama is expected to cost “a fraction” of that because it is in easier-to-access shallow waters. “It’s a win-win to have something this big,” said Mr Duncan. Once the block enters production, the government will take a 68.99 per cent share of the profit from each barrel produced.

This is a big win for Mexico, which two years ago decided to allow private companies to participate in energy projects. If this find turns out to be as significant as early indicators seem to have it, expect even more international companies to get interested.

Read the rest at The American Interest

Related: Billion-Barrel Mexico Find Could Spur Oil Majors to Rush In (Bloomberg)

Related: Oil Discoveries Suggest Mexico’s Bet to Open Energy Sector Is Paying Off (The New York Times)

Related: Mexican Tycoon Carlos Slim's Oil & Gas Company Wins Its First Onshore Oil and Gas Tender (Forbes)

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