AmericasOffshore

Pemex announces potentially huge oil finds in southern Gulf of Mexico

Mexico City: Pemex, Mexico’s state-run oil conglomerate, on Wednesday announced one of its biggest offshore oil finds in years.

The discoveries were made in four different areas, all shallow water fields in the southern Gulf of Mexico and they could produce 250,000 barrels per day by 2018, said a Pemex spokesman who added that the lifetime reserves are potentially 350 million barrels.

Located off the coast of Tabasco and Campeche states, the fields comprise three of light crude and one of heavy crude, and could start coming onstream in 16 months, Pemex said.

Pemex said this is its biggest exploration success since the discoveries in Tsimin-Xux and Ayatsil five years ago. Those fields were also in the southern Gulf.

If they come to full fruition the finds will be a welcome windfall for the Mexican government which relies on Pemex income for about a third of the federal budget.

The timing is good for Pemex, too, because reforms mean the company’s oil and gas monopoly will soon come to an end.

Donal Scully

With 28 years experience writing and editing for newspapers in the UK and Hong Kong, Donal is now based in California from where he covers the Americas for Splash as well as ensuring the site is loaded through the Western Hemisphere timezone.
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