Pemex Has Decided to Increase Oil Production from Old Deposits in the Gulf of Mexico
The Mexican state oil company Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) has agreed with the private oilfield services company CME Oil and Gas on the reconstruction of the mature Bacab and Lum fields in the Gulf of Mexico, Bloomberg reports.
Investments over 15 years are planned in the amount of $1.65 billion. It is assumed that as a result of increasing the depth of wells by 2028, oil production will increase 10 times – up to 40 thousand barrels per day.
Production at Bacab and Lum, which are part of the giant Ku–Maloob–Zaap field, peaked more than a decade ago.
Against the background of declining production, Pemex is seeking to transfer work on aging assets to private sector partners for their reconstruction. This approach differs from the experience of other oil giants, which, as a rule, sell fields in the mature stage of development to smaller companies.
Pemex‘s total production fell to 1.8 million barrels of oil and condensate per day, which is half the peak of twenty years ago. The company‘s net debt is about $100 billion.
Ku–Maloob–Zaap is one of Pemex‘s most productive oil fields, accounting for more than 700,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2021, or approximately 40% of the company‘s total production, while oil production at the field decreases as it ages.
