In a recent statement, Mexican state oil firm Pemex announced that it has reached a preliminary agreement with a consortium led by Talos Energy to evaluate whether the group’s find in the Gulf of Mexico extends into a nearby Pemex block.
Covering territory in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the deal is the first of its kind for Pemex and will be enacted for two years,
The Talos consortium, which includes Britain’s Premier Oil (PMOIF) and Mexico’s Sierra Oil & Gas, won development rights for two blocks during the first oil auction launched by President Enrique Pena Nieto in 2015.
In 2017, the consortium’s Zama-1 well drilled in the Area 7 shallow water block confirmed the discovery of a deposit that could hold between 1.2 billion to 1.8 billion barrels of crude oil.
Pemex plans to drill a well in its neighboring block by the end of this year in order to better understand whether or not the major find extends into the Pemex area.
The project won by the Talos consortium will also be subject to a review by the incoming government of Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.