Page 6 - LatAmOil Week 31 2022

LatAmOil MEXICO LatAmOil

Zama lies within a shallow-water section of the southern Gulf of Mexico (Image: Talos Energy)

Pemex offers to invest heavily in

Zama if Talos accepts its terms

MEXICO’S national oil company (NOC) Pemex Energy (UK), agree with Pemex that the time
has said it is prepared to invest heavily in the has come to move forward, leaving Talos as the
development of Zama, a large oilfield offshore only holdout, Romero added.
Tabasco State, provided that Talos Energy, the “The only company that still doesn’t want to
US-based firm that first discovered it, accepts accept that they cannot be operators because
the Mexican government’s decision to transfer they have neither the size nor the percentage is
operatorship. them. It’s Talos,” he remarked.
Mexico’s Energy Secretariat (SENER) for- Pemex definitely has the resources needed to
mally merged Block 7, the licence area that cover the cost of developing the massive unitised
includes the Zama field, with Uchukil 0152, an field, Romero added. The state-owned company
adjacent block assigned to Pemex, earlier this is ready to do “whatever it takes” and invest bil-
year. It also named Pemex as the operator of the lions of dollars to bring Zama on stream, he
unitised sites at the same time, asserting that the declared.
Asab, Chamak and Naquita fields at Uchukil “The president said that if Talos accepts, the
0152 were part of a single reservoir that lay Mexican government and Pemex will proceed,”
mostly within the block assigned to the NOC. he told Reuters. The NOC expects to spend
Since then, SENER and Pemex have been “very little” on the project in 2022, but if the par-
trying to finalise an agreement with Talos on ties are able to reach the FID stage before the end
the transfer. Mexican President Andres Manuel of the year, spending will be higher in 2024, he
Lopez Obrador said on June 3 that his govern- said. Lopez Obrador made a firm commitment
ment was on track to sign a deal soon, but as to this effect during meetings between US and
of press time, the two sides had yet to come to Mexican energy officials in May and June of this
terms. year, he noted.
Last week, Pemex’s CEO Octavio Romero Talos originally discovered Zama at Block
Oropeza told Reuters in an interview that while 7 in 2017. At the time, it estimated the field’s
Talos was “still a bit reluctant” to wrap things up, recoverable reserves at around 700mn barrels.
officials in Mexico City remained hopeful for a The find was the largest made in Mexico in
quick resolution and a final investment decision decades, and it caught the attention of Pemex –
(FID). “We hope they’ll finally accept and that and of Lopez Obrador, who was eager to protect
we can get the project started,” he told the news the interests of the state-owned company. The
agency. presidential administration ordered the par-
He went on to say that Pemex was the logi- ties to merge their projects in July 2021, despite
cal choice to act as operator of the unitised field Talos’ protests and complaints.
because it had the right experience to lead work As a result of that unitisation, the US com-
at a licence area of that size and because most pany has gone from having a 35% stake in and
of the reservoir lay within the Uchukil 0152 operatorship of Block 7 to having a 17.35% stake
block. Both of the other shareholders in the pro- in and a non-operating interest in the merged
ject, Wintershall Dea (Germany) and Harbour asset. ™

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 31 03•August•2022