Next Mexico Deepwater Oil Tender May Draw from Three Gulf Basins
MEXICO CITY, July 17 (Reuters) - Mexico will announce later this week the bid terms and blocks up for grabs in its next deepwater oil tender, which may include the first areas from the Cordilleras Mexicanas basin, a senior official said on Monday.
The Cordilleras Mexicanas deepwater basin is home to national oil company Pemex's Lakach natural gas project and located east of the Gulf Coast port of Veracruz.
Mexico's first deepwater oil auction last December included blocks from the Perdido Fold Belt straddling the U.S.-Mexico maritime border, and the Salina basin further to the south.
For the next deepwater round, the energy ministry is also looking at areas in the Cordilleras Mexicanas basin, said Juan Carlos Zepeda, head of the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH), the oil regulator that runs the auctions.
"The auction might include blocks from (all) three basins," he said.
The auction will likely take place in January, although no fixed date has yet been set, and will differ from the last deepwater tender by including a maximum additional royalty that interested bidders can offer to win development rights.
Last month, the finance ministry said future oil auctions would include both minimum and maximum additional royalties, and in the case of a tie, a cash bond would be used to break it.
Such cash bonds alone raised $88 million last week as several of the 21 onshore blocks awarded ended up tied.
After the next deepwater round, the following auction will include so-called non-conventional or shale blocks, which would mark another first, Zepeda said.
The calendar and bid terms of the non-conventional auction will likely be announced later this summer, he added.
Last week, Italy's Eni said it had raised the estimate for what is in its Amoca block, won in 2015, to up to 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent and planned to speed up development so that production could come online as soon as 2019.
Zepeda estimated that Eni's accelerated timeline could involve investment of some $1.1 billion, and expected the firm to submit its development plan "maybe within the next month."
A 2013 constitutional energy reform ended Pemex's decades-long exploration and production monopoly, paving the way for seven oil auctions since then. (Editing by Dave Graham and Andrew Hay)
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Generated by readers, the comments included herein do not reflect the views and opinions of Rigzone. All comments are subject to editorial review. Off-topic, inappropriate or insulting comments will be removed.
- Weatherford CEO's Rebound Plan Relies On Getting Smaller
- Iran Says Oil Market Is Too Tight For US Zero Exports Target
- China's Squeezed 'Teapots' Eye Petchem Path To Riches
- Baker Hughes: US Drillers Add Oil Rigs For Second Week In Three
- Venezuela Hands China More Oil Presence, But No Mention Of New Funds
- Gunvor CEO Sees Russian Refining Capacity Taking Hit from Drone Strikes
- These Factors Helped Brent Oil Price Break Above $85
- Sinopec Engineering Posts Higher Annual Petrochemicals Revenue
- Imperial Pipeline in Winnipeg Goes Offline for Three Months
- Gaz System to Acquire Gas Storage Poland
- Subsea7 Secures Contract to Service Woodside's Trion
- Adnoc Inks Supply Deal for Ruwais LNG Project with Germany's SEFE
- EIA Boosts USA Crude Oil Production Forecasts
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- EIA Drops 2024 Henry Hub Gas Price Forecast
- EIA and Standard Chartered Offer Up Latest Oil Price Predictions
- Red Sea Region Sees Another Watershed Incident
- Chevron Oil Project in Kazakhstan to Cost $48.5B
- OPEC Voices Encouragement after IEA Affirms Support for Oil Security
- Biden Govt Bares Strategy for Freight Charging, Hydrogen Fueling Infra
- Rystad Looks at the Buzz Around White Hydrogen
- Ukraine Hits Third Russian Refinery In Escalating Drone Strikes
- VIDEO: Missile Attack Kills Crew Transiting Gulf of Aden
- Norway Regulator Blasts Proposal to Halt New Oil and Gas Permits
- Chinese Mega Company Makes Major Oilfield Discovery
- What Is the Biggest Risk to Offshore Oil and Gas Personnel in 2024?
- Is Peak Oil Demand Close?
- Vessel Sinks in Red Sea After Missile Strike
- JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Reveal Latest Oil Price Forecasts
- Exxon Rights in Stabroek Do Not Apply to Hess Merger with Chevron: Hess
- Rystad Forecasts Net Production of Top Permian Producers in 2024
- Analysts Reveal Latest Oil Price Outlook Following OPEC+ Cut Extension