Achieving Resilience Through Diversification

Q: How did Roca Ventures enter the Mexican market?

A: Roca Ventures entered the Mexican energy market in 2014, acquiring a company specialized in performing maintenance and construction services for PEMEX. The Energy Reform had just been approved and the legal framework presented a great opportunity for us to enter the industry. The oil price crash in 2014 made us rethink our business strategy, and think strategically about introducing new revenue lines to the assets under our portfolio.

In the last couple of years, we have been analyzing the services and new segment lines within the market that we could cater to. We then began looking into offshore logistics services and noticed a gap for private operators in this particular niche. Our original plan was to continue growing with PEMEX, but private operators started their campaigns and required shore base and logistic services, so we pivoted a port concession we owned in Dos Bocas as a construction yard and started to cater to these market needs.

Q: After restructuring its assets, how did Roca Ventures change its business model to fit the new needs of the industry?

A: The port of Dos Bocas is the epicenter of most of the southern shallow and deepwater fields awarded in recent years to private operators. Considering the assets we held in this port, we undertook a competitive assessment to find what services were better suited to provide out of this location and better serve market needs. The port of Dos Bocas was originally designed to serve PEMEX’s operations off the coasts of Campeche and Tabasco. We were sitting on an asset that we had not fully taken advantage of and if PEMEX was taking advantage of this location, we figured we could do the same for the private sector. Private operators need several services close to the dock where they service their fields, like office space, a dock and pipe yard services.

As we were writing the business plan for Roca Port we visited offshore operations ports in the US, UK and Norway to understand what operating such an asset meant for private companies. We adapted some of the best practices we saw in these locations and suit them fit the Roca culture and ethos.

Q: What services will be offered at Roca Port and how will you continue to develop the remaining land available in Dos Bocas?

We offer yard space, docking positions, warehousing, office space, equipment and personnel. We have two concession areas in the port of Dos Bocas. These concessions comprise a 21ha patch of land and 1km of sea front, construction skidways able to handle 5,000 tons each and 300m of docking space.

A 4th part of the asset is currently under development and it will include all of the mentioned services with a state-of-the-art logistics and inventory management system to better service our client’s needs. We will tailor modular shore bases for clients depending on their activities and needs within this area. Many foreign operators want all of their services integrated under one company and we aim to provide this at Roca Port.

Q: What are the main differences between Seybaplaya and Dos Bocas?

A: The proximity to the fields is one of Dos Boca’s mayor advantages. Being closer to the fields makes more sense in terms of vessel costs and rig downtime. Dos Bocas is located an hour away from Villahermosa, which is one of the most important oil and gas hubs in Mexico. There is a wider array of service providers in Villahermosa, as well as supporting transport infrastructure. In terms of location and infrastructure, Dos Bocas is the better option for clients. Seybaplaya may be a big a competitor in the near future, but there is still a great amount of infrastructure to be developed in our opinion.

Roca Ventures is an independent industrial and infrastructure focused private investment firm that conducts buy out, growth and venture capital investments in the midstream, marine logistics, industrial and construction sectors in Mexico.