MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Russian company finds oil off the coast of Tabasco in Mexico

Lukoil entered the Mexican market after the 2013 energy reform

Russia's Lukoil oil company Wednesday announced the finding of an oil reserve off the coast of Tabasco in Mexico believed to be worth 250 million barrels of crude. ”The reservoir was discovered when drilling the Yoti West-1EXP well from the semi-submersible platform Valaris 8505,” according to a company statement.

This finding is located on a sandbank in upper Miocene sediments with high permeability and an effective oil-saturated thickness of about 25 meters, experts have told the media. Named Yoti West-1Exp, the well was drilled from the Valaris 8505 semi-submersible drilling platform 60 kilometers offshore.

Following the discovery, Lukoil plans to develop an evaluation plan for the Yoti West field, which will be based on drilling results. “Based on the results of the drilling, it is planned to prepare an evaluation plan for the Yoti West field,” the statement said. The plan now needs approval from the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNH).

Since 2017, Lukoil Lubricants México has been granted exploration rights in Block 12 in the Gulf of Mexico on a 60/40 arrangement with the Italian energy company ENI.

Lukoil is one of the largest Russian oil producers and has offices in Moscow and the United States.

This year, Lukoil and Eni have already drilled two prospecting wells in Block 10, where ENI is the operator and Lukoil has 20%, and they have announced the discovery of a field with initial reserves of up to 200 million barrels of crude.

The Russian company entered the Mexican market after the 2013 energy reform. Together with ENI, it was among the first to sign a contract with Mexico's Pemex following the energy reform implemented under former President Enrique Peña Nieto.

In 2017, both companies were granted the right to drill in Block 12, which has an area of 521 square kilometers.