Mexican state oil company Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has chosen its first-ever farmout deal by offering stake in its Trion deepwater field, in the Gulf of Mexico near the US border.
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Image of Gonzalez Anaya, from Pemex. |
The company’s board of directors approved the farmout deal last week, in which Pemex Chief Executive Jose Antonio Gonzalez Anaya said on Friday (10 June) at a news conference in Monterrey, that Trion would likely be operated by a company other than Pemex, according to news reports.
Gonzalez Anaya confirmed that the Trion field, in the Perdido area, contains about 480MMbbl at 2500m (8202ft) water depth, and will require about US$11 billion worth of investment, with more farmouts will follow.
A number of investors for Trion have not been decided upon, however, Gonzalez Anaya said that the companies that will be involved in the Trion farmout will be announced in December, when Mexico has scheduled its highly anticipated deepwater auction set.
More details about Trion’s farmout are anticipated to be revealed by the end of next month.
Pemex's monopoly over the country ended in 2013, with Mexico’s historic energy reform. Since then, the Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has made it a priority to negotiate farmouts.
The farmouts, now in the hands of Gonzalez Anaya, are viewed as the best way to boost Mexico’s declining production. However, the farmout process may not be what most oil companies are used to.
Juan Carlos Zepeda, president of Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) explained the process at a panel at this year's CERAWeek forum in Houston in February, saying that "essentially it is up to Pemex to determine how many farmouts, the number of fields, and take that to the Ministry of Energy. Then, Mexico’s Ministry of Finance will set the terms, and CNH will run the bidding process." He clarified that they (CNH) do not pick the partners.
In April, Mexico’s federal government revealed its efforts to strengthen Pemex’s financial position by providing a total liquidity of some $4.2 billion (MXN 73.5 billion), due to adverse economic conditions through the hydrocarbon sector at international levels and depletion of different sites that weakened the financial position of the company.
Last week, Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (SENER) announced the first call for Round 2.1, consisting of 15 shallow water blocks, is set to be released before the end of July.
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First call for Mexico's Round 2 set for July
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