Mexico has signed 10 exploration and extraction contracts with bid round winners from this June's shallow water Round 2.1. Companies signing contracts on Monday (25 September) included Mexico's state owned firm Pemex and its partners Germany's DEA and Colombian operator Ecopetrol.
Mexico's Minister of Energy Pedro Joaquín Coldwell said that Mexico expects investments from these 10 shallow water blocks to total approximately US$8 billion, and produce a maximum of 170,000 boe/d.
Pemex with partner DEA won Block 2, which covers 549sq km in the maritime portion of the Tampico-Misantla basin, to the west of the Gulf of Mexico. Pemex will operate block 2 with 70% interest.
Pemex along with partner Ecopetrol won Block 8, which lies in the Sureste (Southeast) basin and spans 586sq km. Pemex will operate block 8 with 50% interest.
Pemex said that the closeness of these blocks to areas currently held by Pemex as well as existing infrastructure, allow the partners to create synergies that will improve exploration and development activities. "The geological conditions and the type of oil deposits that are expected to be found in these fields are similar to those in the areas that have been operated by PEP for the past 40 years," the company added.
The event was attended by Coldwell, as well as Mexico's National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) President Juan Carlos Zepeda (pictured, above). The contracts were signed by Pemex Exploration and Production (PEP) CEO Javier Hinojosa, and Juan Manuel Delgado and Felipe Bayón, of DEA and Ecopetrol, respectively.
"These new contracts will allow the companies to jointly explore shallow waters, where PEP has proven to have the necessary technical and operating capacities, sharing the technical, operating and financial risks," Pemex said.
Image: Juan Carlos Zepeda speaking during Round 2.1 in June. Image from CNH
Read more about the winners from Round 2.1 below:
Subscribe
