Mexico NEWS

The Tropical Storm Gordon is affecting the production in U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Evidently, three more oil producers have pulled their employees out of the storm’s path and production has reduced by 9%.The storm which was expected to progress westward has now shifted eastward. Companies like Talos Energy Inc. Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp, on Tuesday, vacated and shut many platforms in the eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Pemex-owned, Mexico’s largest refinery in Salina Cruz resumed operation, post a shutdown due to a power outage on Wednesday. The Salina Cruz refinery processes 330,000 barrels of crude oil per day (bpd). Mexico’s state-owned oil company, Pemex has increased processing at the refinery to somewhat more than 200 Mbpd of crude.

McDermott International has bagged a subsea pipeline flowline installation contract from PEMEX Exploration & Production. The contract is on a lump sum basis. McDermott will perform the design and detailed engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) for two subsea pipelines in support of Ayatsil field, offshore Mexico. Installation of the pipelines is slated for completion in the first phase 2019.

EPCI firm, McDermott International has been awarded a contract for the Perdido project of Shell in Mexico. McDermott will carry out the installation of umbilicals and flowlines for the development of Perdido in the Gulf of Mexico. Engineering and project management will be executed in Houston. McDermott’s North Ocean 102 installation is scheduled for completion in 2019.

US oilfield service firm, McDermott International has won a contract of pipeline installation worth approximately $1-$50 million with Mexico’s Pemex. McDermott is expecting the project to be completed by next year. VP of the oilfield services firm said that they are happy to collaborate with Pemex and are looking forward to the successful delivery of the project.

Jersey-based oilfield services provider, Petrofac entered into an agreement to farm out 49% of its operations in Mexico. The stakes have been sold to Perenco International, which will pay initial cash consideration of $200 million. Petrofac is planning to utilise the proceeds from the sale to reduce its gross debt. The deal is subject to approval by COFECE, Mexico and is expected in 4Q2018.

Canadian energy major, TransCanada, yesterday, kick-started a 560-km long Topolobampo natural gas pipeline in Northern Mexico. The $1.2 bn-pipeline will facilitate in upstream interconnection with the Mazatlan pipeline of TransCanada. The supply capacity of the Topolobampo pipeline will be of 670 million cubic feet of natural gas per day.

German E&P giant, DEA Deutsche Erdoel has secured the contracts for three exploration blocks 16, 17 and 30, offshore Mexico granted by the National Hydrocarbons Commission CNH (Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos). The contracts were signed by DEA’s subsidiary, Deutsche Erdoel Mexico, and partners. Deutsche Erdoel Mexico will act as the operator in all three blocks.

Mexico’s oil regulator, National Hydrocarbons Commission, on Tuesday declared the main bid variables for the auction of 37 onshore blocks scheduled in September. The regulator also released the bid terms for the seven joint ventures on offer with the national oil company, Pemex to be hosted in October. The new bid variables shed the past practice of setting maximum and minimum values for the additional royalty.

In an unpredictable move, US has ended steel and aluminum tariff exemption for EU, Mexico, and Canada from the start of June. The US levies a 25% tax on steel and 10% tax on aluminum on import duties. This decision has invoked words of retaliation from the inflicted countries. The tariffs will hit products and raw materials which are used extensively in US manufacturing, construction, and the oil industry.

W&T Offshore and Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), have come together in a strategic partnership for 14 drilling projects, most of which are operated by W&T in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM). The idea is to utilize the BHGE’s expertise in engineering, products and services to reduce total project costs and time, consequently enhancing the execution efficiency.

Shell Offshore Inc. (Shell) has decided to invest in the development of Vito, a deepwater development in the Gulf of Mexico. Vito is expected to reach peak production of approximately 100,000 boed.With a lower-cost developmental approach, the Vito project is a very competitive and attractive opportunity industry-wide.

Eni Spa, the Italian oil major, is in talks to sell 20% to 35% of its stake in its giant oil discovery in Mexico to Qatar Petroleum International. Presently, the negotiation isn’t public. Since Mexico opened its oil industry to competition in 2013, this deal would be the first Mexico farm-out, a joint venture in which help in developing an oil area is exchanged for a stake.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report, the exports of U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) increased from 0.5 Bcfd in 2016 to 1.94Bcfd in 2017. Shipments went to more destinations with an expansion in LNG exports. All LNG exports from US in 2017 originated from Louisiana’s Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal and reached almost 25 nations with 53% shipped to three countries- Mexico, South Korea and China.

Total, the French oil major, is all set to begin drilling its first deep-water exploration well in a Gulf of Mexico block in October. Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission has approved the plan. According to the energy ministry data, the 1,149 square mile block is believed to contain some 1,440 billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe). The reserve is composed of mostly light and extra light crude and natural gas.

The data published by Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission reveals that the proven oil reserves in Mexico have fallen by 7.4 per cent in the beginning of 2018. This analysis is in comparison with the previous year when the reserve had 8.483 billion barrels of crude oil equivalent (boe). The drop indicates the gap between the recent discoveries in oil and gas and the current levels of production.

The President of National Ocean Industries Association (NOIA) issued a statement saying that NOIA is encouraged by the results of Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale which present a promising picture for future growth. The number of bids submitted and the total high bids have increased in number since August, 2017. This is an indication of increased confidence of producers to invest in the Gulf of Mexico.

Maria Victoria Zingoni, Downstream Director of Spanish firm Repsol’s broke the news to a media house that Repsol will open 200 fuel stations in Mexico in 2018. Investing a total of 8 billion pesos the company envisions having a 10% market share in the energy market of the South American country.