MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mexico strikes major gas deposit in Gulf of Mexico deep water drilling

The semi-submersible Bicentenario rig brings new hope to dwindling Mexican hydrocarbons reserves

State-owned oil giant Petroleos Mexicanos, Pemex, announced this week it had struck between 400 billion and 600 billion cubic feet of natural gas and condensates at a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico.

The find was made at the Piklis-1 well, the deepest Pemex has ever drilled, the company said, adding that the discovery confirms “the great hydrocarbon potential of the ‘Cordilleras Mexicanas’ geological province” located in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

Piklis-1, which is 144 kilometres northwest of Coatzacoalcos port was drilled in deep water (1.9 kilometres). .

The results of the initial production tests show “the presence of a deposit of dry, or non-associated, gas and condensates”, Pemex said.

The 3.500 metres deep well is the first to be drilled with the semi-submersible Bicentenario platform, a “sixth generation” rig that was leased for five years.

The South Korean-built Bicentenario arrived in Tuxpan, a port city in the eastern Mexican state of Veracruz, after making a technical stop in Aruba, Pemex said Monday.

Constructed by the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering company, the Bicentenario is 110 meters long, 78 meters wide and 138 meters tall, weighs 58,000 tons and has the capacity to house 160 people.

Mexico’s oil production has been declining for several years and experts say the domestic energy industry’s future is deepwater Gulf of Mexico.

Pemex, however, lacks the proprietary technology to drill in deepwater areas, a problem blamed by many analysts on the company’s highly regulated operations and the fact that it accounts for 30% of the Treasury’s revenues, leaving little funds to invest in new technologies.