A consortium comprised of Talos Energy Inc., Wintershall Dea GmbH subsidiary Sierra Oil and Gas S. de R.L. de C.V. and Premier Oil PLC secured a contract extension and regulatory approvals for additional exploration on Block 7 in the Sureste Basin offshore Mexico.
The National Hydrocarbons Commission of Mexico on Sept. 4 extended the consortium's production sharing contract by two years and approved a modified exploration plan for the block on Sept. 9, according to a Sept. 11 release from the block's operator Talos. It is the first extension given to a private company operating offshore Mexico, Talos said.
The contract stipulates that the consortium must give up approximately half of the Block 7 acreage once it receives the two-year extension. However, the consortium identified multiple exploration targets on the block, which includes the Xlapak and Pok-A-Tok prospects, with typical gross unrisked resources ranging from 75 million barrels of oil equivalent to 150 million boe per target. The approved modified exploration plan allows the consortium to retain acreage covering all of the identified exploration targets.
In addition, following the completion of the Zama appraisal program, the consortium is currently in Zama unitization discussions with Mexico's state-owned oil company Petróleos Mexicanos SA de CV and is going ahead with front-end engineering design before a scheduled final investment decision in 2020.
