CNH Approves Development Extraction Plan for Zama Field

The National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) approved the development plan for the Zama Field Contract, which consists of extraction in the Unified Area. The announcement includes the approval of the first work program and associated budget. 

The CHN highlighted that during the 13th Ordinary Session of 2023, the Governing Body approved the Development Plan for Extraction, the Work Program and its initial Budget as part of the unification process shared by the state-owned oil company PEMEX Exploration and Production (PEP) and the consortium led by Talos Energy, explained CNH via a press release. 

The CNH reviewed the project in accordance with the "Guidelines Regulating Exploration and Development Plans for Hydrocarbon Extraction." The evaluation process for the plan took place within 43 of the 85 calendar days stipulated by the guidelines, which began from the day following the submission of the request.

The development plan aims to recover a volume of 625.68 million barrels of oil and 243.29 billion ft3 of gas by the end of September 2045, with an estimated recovery factor of 37.8% for both oil and gas, according to the CNH. The commission anticipates total costs of US$9 billion from 2023 to 2045, for which US$4.5 billion will be allocated to investments, and US$4.5 billion for operating expenses and abandonment costs.

Production from the Zama Field is estimated to begin in December 2025, reaching a peak production rate of 180,000 barrels per day of oil and 70.35 million ft3 per day of gas in 2029.

The CNH highlighted that activities will consist of development (geophysics and facilities construction) and production with a budget of US$45.5 million from July to December 2023. Additionally, a budget of US$1.2 billion has been allocated for the period from January to December 2024.

PEMEX recently announced a recovery in the production of liquid hydrocarbons driven by condensates due to their significant presence in some of the new fields as the key to sustaining the company's efforts toward crude production recovery.

The condensates that PEMEX reported since 2018 were found in large volumes in wet gas reservoirs, unlike dry gas with a high methane content, which is used directly as gas for heating. However, wet gas has more value due to its propane, butane and pentane content, as well as naphtha fractions content, which allows for the separation for petrochemical uses as precursors in the manufacturing of plastics and lubricants, as reported by MBN.