Two private partners of Mexico’s state-run oil company Pemex will invest a combined $250 million in two projects over the next four years as they aim to quickly ramp up crude output, according to plans approved on Tuesday.
The joint venture partnerships with Pemex were initiatives championed by Mexico’s previous government following a sweeping 2013 energy reform, but have come under sharp criticism from current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who favors a more state-centric oil policy.
DEA Deutsche Erdoel holds the partnership rights with Pemex on its Ogarrio block and the development plan approved Tuesday by Mexico’s independent oil regulator calls for fresh investment of $161 million through 2023.
The plan commits the German firm to drilling 10 new wells while finishing 10 others, and projects oil output to grow from nearly 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) currently to more than 11,000 bpd in 2020, according to the regulator, the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH).
Meanwhile, a second Pemex partner, Egypt’s Cheiron Holdings, will invest $88.7 million in the Cardenas-Mora block, according to the CNH-approved development plan.
The plan sees oil production ramping up to more than 9,000 bpd in 2020 from 5,800 bpd currently and envisions the drilling of four wells this year, along with major repairs scheduled on another four wells.
Both Ogarrio and Cardenas-Mora are located in southern Tabasco state, just off Mexico’s Gulf coast.
