Offshore staff
MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s state oil company PEMEX says it has discovered six new crude oil deposits in the Gulf of Mexico, two of super light crude in deepwater, and four of light crude in shallow water, according to a Reuters report.
PEMEX also plans to drill 30 exploratory wells in 2017, it said in a statement.
A PEMEX spokesman said the discoveries were a made couple of months ago, but were not announced immediately in order to quantify the reserves and guarantee their commercial viability.
PEMEX said that in the oil-rich Cinturon Plegado de Perdido area, located in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico, it had already drilled the Nobilis-1 well, located 220 km (137 mi) off the coast of the northeastern state of Tamaulipas, at a depth of 3,000 m (9,842 ft) to the ocean floor, and a total depth of more than six kilometers (3.7 mi).
The company said that in the two deepwater discoveries, the crude had a super light gravity of over 40 degrees API. PEMEX said the two wells could eventually deliver 15,000 b/d, and could have proven, probable and possible (3P) reserves of between 140 MM to 160 MMboe.
The company also announced it had discovered light crude and gas in the Teca-1 well, located 30 km (18.6 mi) off the Gulf coast at 44 m (144 ft) below the surface. It estimated 3P reserves were between 50 MM to 60 MMboe.
PEMEX, which has enacted major spending cuts due to lower oil prices, said it would focus the majority of its investments toward areas where it thinks it has the highest probability of discovering crude.
The company estimates that its average production will be 1.9 MM b/d in 2017, its lowest level since 1980, as a result of the spending cuts.
09/14/2016
