AMLO Demands That Vitol Disclose Names
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AMLO Demands That Vitol Disclose Names

Photo by:   PEMEX
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Thu, 06/24/2021 - 18:47

President López Obrador has asked top executives from Dutch company Vitol to point out  current and former PEMEX personnel who accepted bribes. Vitol was named in an American investigation that began at the end of last year as one of the companies that paid bribes to PEMEX workers to guarantee that contracts would be granted to them. Vitol was also accused of bribing other major oil companies, such as Petrobras. Vitol eventually admitted to the charges and paid a US$163 million fine. The president revealed that top executives from the company visited Mexican state officials to offer apologies and restitutions, but that they refused to name those in PEMEX who took their money, according to a report from Proceso.  

Ready for More? Here’s the Week in Oil & Gas!

Equinor to Exit Mexico

Norwegian oil major Equinor, formerly known as Statoil, has dropped its two deepwater blocks in Mexico, effectively concluding its involvement in the Mexican oil and gas industry. This decision came as part of its ongoing decarbonization objectives which call for a reduction of its upstream portfolio. While the NOC will continue to invest in its assets in countries like Brazil and Canada, its two Mexican blocks located in the Salina Sureste basin will be offloaded to their venture partners, according to a report from Upstream. They were acquired in Mexico’s Round 1.4 bid round in an equal equity split with BP and Total. 

CNH Approves New Fieldwood Plan

Shallow water operator Fieldwood Energy has had one of its exploration and development plans for Area 4 approved by the CNH. Its development plan for its Area 4 contract off the coast of Tabasco and Campeche will now involve a total investment of US$7 billion. Fieldwood expects to ramp up production during the second half of 2021 from zero to about 40,000b/d and forecasts that it will reach a peak of over 60,000b/d in 2023, according to a report from BNAmericas. 

Oil Majors Challenge Fieldwood Restructuring

Several recognizable oil and gas operators have complained about Fieldwood Energy’s latest plan to reorganize itself after last year’s bankruptcy. These operators include Shell, BP, ConocoPhillips and Marathon Oil Company, all of whom previously sold rights and interests in various oil and gas properties to Fieldwood or its predecessor Apache Corporation. Some of them have also signed contracts with Fieldwood that concern assets that are now being transferred to new ownership or contractual modes under the proposed plan, according to a report from Offshore Engineer. 

Octavio Navarro Sada Passes Away at 76

Longtime Mexico Country Manager of Heerema Marine Contractors and close collaborator of Mexico-Netherlands diplomatic relations Octavio Navarro Sada passed away over the weekend at age 76, according to a press release from Holland House. The cause of death remained private. Octavio was also a member of the Advisory Board of Holland House Mexico and long-time supporter and member of both Holland House Mexico and Dutch Energy Association.

Photo by:   PEMEX

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