Mexico gives green light to explore new oil and gas plays

Pemex has been authorised to commence drilling at two oil and gas wells in Veracruz, Mexico, with investments of around USD 93.1 million, Upstream Online reported on Monday.

The NOC intends to drill the offshore Sihil-101EXP well located in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Campeche and the onshore Chiltepec-1EXP well.

The Sihil-101EXP well will be drilled by the Coatzacoalco rig owned by local E&P services player Perforadora Central.

Drilling will be done in water depths of around 45 metres to final depths of around 5,500 metres.

Operations at the well are to begin in late February 2024 and last around seven months.

The programme at the Sihil-101EXP well is expected to cost USD 87.4 million, with USD 72.7 million earmarked for drilling and USD 14.7 million for completion.

The onshore Chiltepec-1EXP project is expected to cost USD 5.7 million, with USD 4.6 million expected to be spent on drilling and USD 1.1 million on completion.

Submitted authorisation plans for both plays were announced by Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission on January 23, 2024.