Following reports Thursday that the U.S. oil firm Talos and Mexico's Pemex have not managed to reach a deal on how to share the giant Zama field found by Talos in 2017, the confirmation came Friday from Talos.
Talos Energy said that the unitization process of the Zama field "will enter its next phase, as established in Mexican regulation."
"The Mexican Ministry of Energy ("SENER") is now required to propose finalized terms of a Unitization and Unit Operating Agreement ("UUOA") based on international best practices and considering inputs from the parties," Talos said.
"Petróleos Mexicanos ("Pemex") and the Block 7 consortium, comprised of Talos and partners Premier Oil and Wintershall Dea, did not propose a UUOA to SENER within the initial timeframe established by the unitization guidelines, which ended March 25, 2021," Talos said.
President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy S. Duncan commented: "Since the presentation of the original key terms for the UUOA, significant progress in reaching a common understanding has been largely achieved. We appreciate the increased momentum and commitment from Pemex towards achieving a joint resolution. As we transition into this new phase in the process, we look forward to continuing to engage constructively with both SENER and Pemex and we are confident we can achieve a positive outcome for all parties."
Discovered in 2017 by the Talos-led consortium, Zama is a shared reservoir that extends from Block 7 to neighboring Pemex AE-0152-Uchukil Asignación in the Cuencas del Sureste, in the Bay of Campeche in Mexico.
Earlier in March, Talos said that pending the conclusion of unitization discussions in the coming weeks, "Talos would aim to reach Final Investment Decision ("FID") on the project before year-end 2021."
Third-party evaluator Netherland, Sewell & Associates in January 2020 said the "Best Estimate" of the 2C gross recoverable resource at Zama was approximately 670 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which 60% located on Block 7 in the 2C case.
NSAI's "High Estimate" of the 3C gross recoverable resource estimate was approximately 1,010 MMBoe.