Pemex to farm out 2 fields

MEXICO CITY, October 19, 2016 – Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) will seek to farm out two shallow-water fields in the Gulf of Mexico with estimated reserves of up to 281 million barrels of crude oil equivalent, Pemex announced on Tuesday.

The Ayin and Batsil blocks, located off the states of Tabasco and Campeche, are likely to be included in a government auction of some 15 other shallow-water sites in March, the Wall Street Journal reported.

They were assigned to Pemex as part of the energy reform in 2013-14, which opened up tenders to international and private energy companies, but with the low recent prices of oil, Pemex has struggled to keep up production in its existing capacities. Its crude production has steadily fallen from about 3.4 million bopd in 2004 to 2.2 million bopd today.

The news of the expected farmout came just a week after the national upstream regulator relaxed the rules for companies seeking to team up with Pemex in developing the deepwater Trion field, also in the Gulf of Mexico.

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