Woodside Energy, Government of Tamaulipas Sign Agreement

Woodside Energy signed a collaboration agreement with the government of Tamaulipas in Matamoros. During the conference, the attendees highlighted the importance of the landmark Trion deepwater project.

The agreement formalizes developments at the Matamoros port on the back of the Trion project development. Américo Villarreal, the Governor of Tamaulipas, José Silva, Head, the Tamaulipas Energy Commission, Timothy Callahan, Woodside’s legal representative and Director General Mexico, BHP Billiton, and Stephan Drouaud, Project Director Trion, Woodside Energy, attended the meeting.

The Trion project represents a milestone in the oil industry in Mexico as it is the first deepwater oil field in the Gulf of Mexico. When Woodside announced the start of construction of the Trion field, Silva said that this project will singlehandedly revive the northern port of Matamoros.

According to Drouaud, the company will continue the investment assessment in preparation for a final investment decision (FID) in 2023 and it also plans to submit the first Mexican ultra-deepwater Field Development Plan to CNH in 2023. At the moment, Woodside is reviewing the submissions on its tender to develop the floating platform at the field. It will define the entrusted company for the project during the 1H23.

In an interview with MBN, Drouaud discussed the legacy of Trion beyond its FID path in 1H23. “Trion (...) is key to unlocking deepwater oil and gas activity and promoting the development of Mexico’s energy sector. Successful delivery of the project and first production from the field would increase national oil production and provide benefits to the community where we operate as well as the people of Mexico through the 30-year life of the field. Our goal is to create value for our company, PEMEX and to leave a lasting legacy in Mexico. We appreciate and accept the challenges to achieving our objective and we genuinely believe that we have built a good foundation for being successful in Mexico since 2016. Furthermore, we are committed to transferring our technology and development capabilities to support the Mexican deepwater industry in the future,” said Droudaud.

PEMEX and Woodside Sign Collaborative Agreement with Woodside

PEMEX discovered Trion in 2012. In 2017, BHP Petroleum and PEMEX signed an agreement for the development of the deepwater project. Following its merger with BHP Petroleum, Woodside Energy continued the agreement with PEMEX. Having completed the FEED phase in August, Woodside issued a call for bids to provide floating production units (FPU), floating storage and offloading units (FSO) and other field support works. Estimated to have reserves of more than 1 billion boe, Trion is seen as one of the most interesting deepwater prospects in Mexico.

In October 2022, PEMEX CEO Octavio Romero Oropeza signed a collaborative agreement with Woodside Energy, incorporating the NOC’s Mexican into the IOC’s activities in Houston. The main goal of this strategy is for the personnel to “acquire knowledge in exploration and production strategies,” said PEMEX, particularly regarding deepwater operations.