PEMEX Invests in Spudding, Development to Boost Production
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PEMEX Invests in Spudding, Development to Boost Production

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By MBN Staff | MBN staff - Wed, 11/17/2021 - 09:20

Mexican national oil company PEMEX will invest US$115 million in spudding exploratory oil wells in Tabasco and Veracruz. The developments are part of PEMEX’s increasing developments aiming to reach 2MMb/d by the end of 2024.

The National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) approved PEMEX’s proposal to spud the Actul-1EXP exploratory well, part of the AE-0135-M-Cuichapa designation. The NOC is about to invest US$11 in total on a program of around two and a half months, beginning on Nov. 26.

PEMEX is set to invest US$104 million to develop the Bedel field, for which it got a modified development approved by CNH. The company aims to drill five wells and execute a variety of repairs, as well as construct additional infrastructure such as a pipelines. PEMEX has already drilled 20 wells at Bedel. Overall, the company’s extraction rates stand at 6,240b/d of oil and 5.13MMcf/d of natural gas, according to BNAmericas. As a result of the modification, PEMEX is looking 11.4MMBOE of oil and 11.2Mbcf of gas.

Earlier this month, PEMEX asked CNH to approve plans regarding the spudding of the Tlacame-101 exploratory well, located in Tabasco’s Uchukil assignment. Here, the NOC aims to invest US$43.6 million in order to find 11MMBOE of prospective resources. CNH furthermore approved plans to spud an appraisal well called Kuun, part of the onshore Llave concession in Veracruz.  Nevertheless, on Thursday, Nov. 11, CNH decided not to approve an evaluation program at the same Llave concession, this time at the Tum well. The commission decided that the tests would cause excessive gas flaring and suggested that ASEA review the plans first.

President López Obrador has tasked PEMEX to produce a surpassing 2MMb/d by the end of his term in 2024. Analysts do not consider the goal to be out of reach, especially after PEMEX managed to reverse a 15-year long production decline in 2020. Nevertheless, experts wonder why the number has been set at 2 million. The president had earlier set the goal at 2.6MMb/d, calling it a national imperative to reach this figure making it a cornerstone of Mexico’s economic development. In March 2021, the president adjusted the figure to the current goal, enough to meet refining requirements necessary for Mexico’s self-sufficiency, without harming the environment. In any case, it seems unlikely that the NOC will look toward joint ventures. “We are not going to share production, we are not going to share profits,” said PEMEX CEO Octavio Romero to Reuters earlier this year. As such, PEMEX will have to do the legwork by itself, backed up by government resources.

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