McDermott International announced Thursday it has been awarded a contract from Talos Energy for concept and engineering services for the Zama field development project – the first offshore Mexico block awarded to a private operator.
The contract is for engineering services, including concept selection and follow-on pre-FEED.
The U.S. based contractor said it will work with io oil & gas consulting, its joint venture with Baker Hughes, a GE company. McDermott will manage all phases of the engineering services process and will workshare engineers and designers in Mexico City and will receive continuous support from io and input from the customer. Based on the final concept solution identified by io, McDermott will provide the follow-on pre-FEED services for the Zama development. Work on the concept selection has begun with expected completion in the third quarter 2019.
"The Zama discovery is a significant and historic project for Mexico, and our customer, Talos Energy," said Richard Heo, McDermott's Senior Vice President for North, Central and South America. "Early engagement during the conceptual and pre-FEED phases is a strategy that is proving beneficial to our customers. With high estimated oil production, designing an efficient concept solution, in combination with the integrated pre-FEED studies, allows us to help Talos maximize the value of this important greenfield project."
The Zama field is located in Block 7 of the Sureste Basin offshore Mexico in the Gulf of Mexico and has a water depth of approximately 540 feet (165 meters). The field was discovered in July 2017, and Zama-1 was the first exploration well drilled offshore Mexico by a private sector operator. Talos estimates the field has 400-800 million recoverable barrels of oil equivalent (MBOE), with an estimated peak production of approximately 150 MBOE/day. Appraisal activities are planned for late 2018 with two additional wells and first oil is expected by 2022.
The Zama field development project has shared participating interest among Talos Energy (35 percent), Sierra Oil and Gas (40 percent) and Premier Oil (25 percent).