Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 44 2022

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

CNH approves Pemex’s Lakach plan

THE National Hydrocarbons Commission “This is fundamental for the production of
(CNH), Mexico’s national oil and gas regulator, gas,” Reuters quoted him as saying. “We should
approved plans for the development of Lakach, increasingly strive to use new technologies that
a deepwater natural gas field located off the coast allow us to develop deepwater fields.”
of Veracruz State, on October 31. NFE has said it will support Pemex by deliv-
In the first session headed by its newly ering a 1.4mn tonne per year (tpy) floating LNG
appointed chairman, Agustin Diaz Lastra, (FLNG) unit to Lakach. The Mexican company
CNH gave a green light to the $1.79bn plan put intends to use the FLNG vessel to liquefy most
forward by the national oil company (NOC) of the gas extracted from the field, leaving the
Pemex. remaining volumes, along with any gas con-
Members of the commission did raise some densate production, available for utilisation at
questions during a discussion session about onshore facilities.
Pemex’s lack of deepwater experience, but in In July, NFE also said that the partners would
the end they voted unanimously to approve its be developing two more nearby gas fields,
application for permission to proceed, accord- Kunah and Piklis, along with Lakach. These two
ing to a Reuters report. sites make Lakach a more attractive prospect, as
Pemex had said previously that it expected they hold around 2.3 trillion cubic feet (65.13bn
the cost of developing Lakach to reach $1.5bn. cubic metres) of gas in addition to Lakach’s 1
It was not clear as of press time why the NOC’s tcf (28.3 bcm) of gas in proven and probable
final cost estimates had been higher. reserves. ™
Nor was it certain whether Pemex had
worked out the details of a previously
announced plan to work with US-based New
Fortress Energy (NFE) to develop Lakach. The
NOC has said it wants NFE to support opera-
tions at the field within the framework of a ser-
vice contract similar to those it used prior to the
introduction of wide-ranging energy reforms in
2013-2014.
For his part, Diaz Lastra said on October 31
that he was pleased that the CNH had approved
Pemex’s plan. The project will help propel
Mexico’s gas sector forward and help the NOC
gain experience in deepwater development, he
remarked. Lakach lies off the off the coast of Mexico’s southern Veracruz State (Image: Pemex)

NFE to expand gas business in

Mexico under final deals with CFE

US-BASED New Fortress Energy (NFE) indi- President Andres Manuel López Obrador and
cated on October 28 that it was set to expand its CFE’s CEO Manuel Bartlett, it said.
natural gas business in Mexico after finalising a The first agreement envisions the expansion
package of agreements signed earlier this year and extension of a deal for the supply of gas to
with that country’s national power provider, the two thermal power plants (TPPs) owned by
Federal Electricity Commission (CFE). CFE in Baja California Sur State, NFE said. Both
In a statement, NFE explained that it had plants receive gas via NFE’s LNG regasification
made arrangements with CFE for the imple- terminal in the port of Pichilingue, which came
mentation of three projects and added that it online in July 2021, it noted.
intended to finalise agreements for these initia- Meanwhile, the second agreement involves
tives at an official signing ceremony on Novem- the sale of NFE’s 135-MW Central Turbogás
ber 3. Amaunet TPP in La Paz, a city near Pichilingue
All three deals have the approval of Mexican in Baja California Sur, to CFE.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 44 02•November•2022