Mexico’s Round 2.1 bidding a success
Mexico 
MEXICO CITY, June 19, 2017 – Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission held the first tender of the country’s Round 2 E&P bidding process on Monday, awarding 10 of the 15 shallow-water blocks on offer.
Altogether, 36 companies participated in the auction, either individually or as part of consortiums. Of the 12 companies that won licences, seven were fresh entrants in Mexico’s upstream sector.
Eni, which had already won a shallow-water block in Round 1, came away from the most recent tender with three additional licences. Another big winner of Round 2.1 was new player Citla Energy, which won three licences in partnership with both Eni and Cairn Energy.
Pemex won two blocks, partnering with Germany’s DEA Deutsche for Tampico-Misantla Area 2, and Colombian NOC Ecopetrol for Southeastern Basins Area 8.
The most sought after block was Southeastern Basins Area 9, which attracted six bids from super-majors such as Chevron and China National Offshore Oil Corporation, as well as smaller independents including Talos Energy and Diavaz.
Two bidders tied in their proposals for that block, but a consortium of Citla Energy and Cairn Energy were declared winners based on an additional cash bonus of more than USD 30 million. The block spans 562 square kilometres and is estimated to hold 169 million boe in 2P reserves.
All of the areas offered in Round 2.1 were located off the coasts of the states of Veracruz, Tabasco and Campeche. Together, the 15 blocks covered more than 8,900 square kilometres and held a combined 4 billion boe in prospective resources.
The complete results of Round 2.1 are as follows:
Tampico-Misantla Area 1: Not awarded
Tampico-Misantla Area 2: DEA Deutsche and Pemex
Tampico-Misantla Area 3: Not awarded
Tampico-Misantla Area 4: Not awarded
Veracruz Area 5: Not awarded
Southeastern Basins Area 6: Petronas and Ecopetrol
Southeastern Basins Area 7: Eni, Cairn Energy and Citla Energy
Southeastern Basins Area 8: Pemex and Ecopetrol
Southeastern Basins Area 9: Cairn Energy and Citla Energy
Southeastern Basins Area 10: Eni
Southeastern Basins Area 11: Repsol and Sierra Oil & Gas
Southeastern Basins Area 12: Lukoil
Southeastern Basins Area 13: Not awarded
Southeastern Basins Area 14: Eni and Citla Energy
Southeastern Basins Area 15: Total and Shell
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