Second Mexican farm-out moves ahead

Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission will include the country’s second farm-out opportunity in its Round Two phase one E&P auctions on June 19.

Following a vote on Monday to finalise bidding terms, the commission aims to find a partner to develop the shallow-water Ayin-Batsil field.

Under the terms of the agreement set by Mexican regulators, Pemex will not operate the development, but must retain a minimum 50% stake. The contract period will be 30 years with additional 10-year extensions.

Located in the Bay of Campeche, the farm-out area is estimated to contain 46 million boe in 1P reserves and 281 million boe in 3P reserves.

In October 2016, Ayin-Batsil was selected by Pemex to undergo a review and approval process by the Secretariat of Energy and National Hydrocarbons Commission.

In December 2016, Mexico’s first farm-out, Trion, was auctioned. Pemex and BHP Billiton signed a joint development agreement for the field last week.