Pemex commits $680 mil to explore deepwater Perdido in Gulf of Mexico in 2025

Pemex has committed to a $680 million exploration program in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico in the area known as Perdido, which had been neglected following a presidential mandate to focus on shallow-water and onshore deposits.

The exploration, planned for late 2025 and 2026 when Mexico will have a new president, comes as private companies operating in the same region of the country are increasingly abandoning their own blocks.

The National Hydrocarbons Commission during its weekly meeting on Feb. 27 approved Pemex's request to modify its exploration programs for seven blocks located in Perdido, only a few miles from the marine border with the US.

Pemex requested the modification as it has now decided it will drill at least one exploration well in each of the blocks, while it did not plan wells for all of them before, the CNH said. Pemex drilled 28 exploration wells from 2012 to 2019 in the area.

Upon taking office, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador instructed Pemex to focus on shallow-water and onshore deposits to keep production flowing. Deepwater and unconventional deposits have been removed from the Pemex portfolio, although most of the prospective resources are located there.

Pemex has identified more than 2 billion of barrels of oil equivalent in Perdido, which is over 6,000 square kilometers wide, according to CNH.

The blocks are adjacent to Trion, the only ultra-deepwater project in the country, which is expected to start production in 2028. Australia's Woodside Energy is currently developing the project in a joint venture with Pemex. At its peak, Trion is expected to yield a little over 100,000 b/d, becoming one of the largest contributors to national production.

The decision to explore deepwater deposits comes as private companies operating in the same region of the country are increasingly abandoning their own blocks. Companies in Perdido and other deepwater in the Gulf of Mexico blocks have started to renounce their exploration rights, arguing the amount of resources found is too low for the level of investment. Companies that have renounced to their blocks include Vista Oil & Gas, Shell, CNOOC, Chevron, Repsol, and Petronas.

Roughly 70% of the deepwater blocks that were auctioned during 2015-2017 have been returned, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights estimates.