PEMEX Stops Drilling at Valeriana Following Seismic Data Analysis

PEMEX announced it will stop drilling at the Valeriana well in Tabasco following new findings in seismic data analysis of the region led to a major modification in the design of the wells, reported the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH) on August 12. 

The well is located in the Centro municipality of Tabasco, where other important oil discoveries have been made in past years. Potential production of the wells and camps is forecasted as high as 600MMboe, and its development could lead to construction of other key infrastructure projects like new oil production complexes, as reported by MBN.

PEMEX started working in the area in 2019, when the Quesqui camp gained ground in operational priorities of the state at a time when production was up and daily barrels began to pile up. In that year, both President López Obrador and PEMEX informed other three camps were operational: the now stopped Valeriana, as well as Cibix in Jalpa de Méndez, and Chocol in Comalcalco, in Tabasco.

Alma América Porres Luna, CNH Commissioner, has commented that PEMEX had four additional exploration wells lined up and planned in Valeriana before the seismic data was made available; it remains to be seen whether the plans for these will also be changed.

Valeriana was discovered in 2017 and only gained importance under the administration of López Obrador, who has promised an ambitious and radical energetic agenda and a far-better performance for Mexico’s biggest state company. Regarding the state, priority will be given to shallow-water and onshore deposits. To illustrate the importance of the area, believed to contain over 1.2 billion barrels of oil, the president renamed it General Francisco J. Mugica in March, where PEMEX also hopes to drill as many as 60 additional wells.

President López Obrador’s interest in the area is no surprise. In 2019, General Director of PEMEX Octavio Romero Oropeza, referring to Camp Quesqui’s big oil wells findings, pointed out no bigger discovery had been made in Tabasco since the 1987 Camp Sen discovery in Nacajuca. During the same conference, half a million barrels a day were forecasted by officials and authorities are confident in the area’s potential for exploration, production, and prominence in the region. Moreover,  company´s key officials have repeatedly commented on the oil history of the region, where up to a million barrels a day were produced at certain points in the past.

In regards to benefits to be made from any new discoveries, MBN has reported, with remarks made by an independent advisor to PEMEX, that under President López Obrador, PEMEX “has accomplished a great deal in terms of efficiency, getting the price for each barrel extracted down to US$14 in some cases.”