While the countdown to Round One has dominated activities in the Mexican offshore sector over the past 12 months, there have still been other notable contracts awarded.
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Pemex’s Ku-S platform in the Bay of Campeche. Photo from Return To Scene. |
June 2014, saw GE Oil & Gas land a significant contract for surface wellheads and trees on Pemex’s Ayatsil heavy oil field located in the Campeche Sound in the Gulf of Mexico.
This contract was followed by two October 2014 deals that saw OneSubsea and Saipem each land contracts for the Lakach project, the first deepwater subsea field to be developed by Pemex. OneSubsea’s contract, valued at US$270 million, includes subsea production equipment and tooling for the seven-well system. The Saipem deal involves the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of the subsea system connecting the offshore field with the onshore gas conditioning plant, as well as the SURF facilities.
The first significant contract in 2015, also at Ayatsil field, went to McDermott, which will be installing the offshore jacket, deck and piles for the Ayatsil-A drilling platform.
It is expected that Pemex will look for JV partners for several of the fields it was allowed to keep, in what is called “Round 0.5.” The production farm-outs are in shallow water, where there are a number of mature fields. The Bolontiku, Sinan and Ek fields, for example, have 2P reserves of 350 MMboe and are expected to bring in $6.3 billion in investment. Also in the shallow water are the extra heavy oil fields: Ayatsil, Tekel and Utsil have 2P reserves of 747 MMboe, with expected investment of up to $6.2 billion.
Pemex’s development farm-outs are located in the deepwater fields. The natural gas fields of Kunah and Piklis have 2P reserves of 212 MMboe and an expected investment $6.8 billion. The Perdido area that includes the Trion and Exploratus oil fields with 3P reserves of 539 MMboe is likely to see the largest expected investment at $11.2 billion.
While the recent decline in oil prices may make some companies reconsider investment opportunities - particularly in exploration - there is still considerable international interest as well as strong opportunities for the energy supply chain. What is clear is that 2015 will see the Mexican offshore sector undergo change like never before. Watch this space!
Lisa Defalco is Regional Analyst for North & Central America for the UK-based energy trade association Energy Industries Council (EIC).
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