Royal Dutch Shell and Qatar Petroleum announced that in the deep-water bid round for the Mexican Gulf of Mexico, they have won nine and five exploration blocks, respectively.
Shell won four exploration blocks on its own, one with its partner Pemex Exploración y Producción and four with its partner Qatar Petroleum International Limited.
Shell informed that it will be the operator of all nine blocks.
“We commend Mexico on a historical, successful bid round; for Shell, today’s win marks a competitive, deep-water entry in Mexico. The proximity and technical similarity of this opportunity to our leading position in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico will allow us to benefit from and build upon decades of experience, complementing our position in the region,” stated Andy Brown, Upstream Director, Shell.
Chevron, Inpex, Eni, PC Carigali, Ophir, Repsol, PTTEP and Sierra Oil & Gas also bid successfully for exploration rights, while then blocks went unsold.
Earlier during this week, Shell announced one of its largest US Gulf of Mexico exploration finds in the past decade from the Whale deep-water well. The well encountered more than 1,400 net feet (427 meters) of oil bearing pay. Whale is operated by Shell (60%) and co-owned by Chevron (40%).
Furthermore, Qatar Petroleum has won exploration rights in 5 offshore blocks in Mexico. Qatar Petroleum won the exploration rights for blocks 3, 4, 6, and 7 in the Perdido basin as part of a consortium comprising Shell (60%) and Qatar Petroleum (40%).
Qatar Petroleum also won the exploration rights for block 24 in the Campeche basin as part of a consortium comprising Eni (65%) and Qatar Petroleum (35%).
Mr. Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the President & CEO of Qatar Petroleum, said: “Winning these offshore exploration blocks in Mexico, which contain some of the most promising hydrocarbon prospects in the world, is an important achievement for Qatar Petroleum. It represents another step in implementing our strategy to expand our international footprint, and to pursue Latin America as an important core area for Qatar Petroleum.”