Mexico to auction 29 deep-sea exploration zones on 31 January
Published by Nicholas Woodroof,
Editor
Oilfield Technology,
Mexico is hoping to attract a number of high-profile explorers with cheap prices for drilling rights to its most coveted offshore fields, in an attempt to recover from a decade of low output. The auction for access to 29 deep-water tracts will be held on 31 January, as reported by Bloomberg yesterday.
The auction for access to 29 deep-water tracts will be held on 31 January. ExxonMobil, Shell and Chevron are among the 21 entrants registered to bid next week, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) announced on Thursday.
Horacio Cuenca, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, commented that Mexico’s demand for small upfront bonus payments probably enhanced interest in the auction: “Mexico has done all it could to attract companies. It’s going to drive interest. The blocks are very cheap.”
Pemex, as the state-owned oil producer is known, is set to bid individually and as a partner in six groups with companies such as Chevron and Shell. Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd also qualified as a lone bidder and as a part of five consortium groups with partners such as Cnooc Ltd and Repsol SA.
Hector Acosta, CNH Commissioner, said on Thursday: “The fact that we have so much variety in the integration of the consortium groups – 17 bid groups and nine individual bidders – seems like good news and that we will have a good presentation of offers for the different blocks.”
Read the article online at: https://www.oilfieldtechnology.com/exploration/26012018/mexico-to-auction-29-deep-sea-exploration-zones-on-31-january/
You might also like
Wood Mackenzie: six-country international shale priority list for energy security as Middle East conflict drives supply diversification
Middle East conflict has elevated strategic energy security priorities as countries seek supply diversification, international shale exploration can play a key role in meeting those goals, according to new research from Wood Mackenzie, titled “A hydrocarbon copy: the upstream industry’s return to international shale exploration”.