Mexico publishes deepwater auction terms

MEXICO CITY, July 20, 2017 – Mexico’s Round 2.4 tender will offer 30 deepwater blocks on January 31, 2018, the country’s National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) said Wednesday.

The blocks are located in four regions, including the Perdido Fold Belt and Salina Basin, where deepwater blocks were previously auctioned in Round 1.4 last year.

The tender will also open new areas to oil and gas companies, presenting one block in the Yucatán platform, as well as 10 in the Cordilleras Mexicanas Basin, where Pemex’s major Lakach gasfield is situated.

Altogether, the blocks span 70,866 square kilometres and are estimated to contain around 4.23 billion boe.

Licence agreements for these areas will be valid for 35 years, with one optional 10-year extension followed by another optional five-year extension.

Round 2.4 was originally expected to take place in December 2017, but, following large shallow-water discoveries announced separately last Wednesday by Talos Energy and Eni, the commission pushed the tender back. Regulators have said that the new launch date will give potential bidders time to assess the value of the recent finds.

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