New find: Mexico says discovery could raise reserves.
New find may bump up Mexican cache
A Pemex exploration well drilled near the offshore Ku Maloob Zaap heavy oilfield, Mexico's most prolific producer, appears to show reserves at the complex that could be more than previously thought.
The Tekel-1 well, drilled six kilometers away from another well known as Ayatsil, flowed at 6000 barrels per day when completed in February.
"This well alone brought 100 million barrels of oil equivalent of new reserves and confirmed the extension of the Ayatsil field," Pemex chief executive Jesus Reyes Heroles told reporters, reported Reuters.
Pemex geologists are planning to drill two more wells nearby later this year to better delineate the Ayatsil field, Reyes Heroles said.
The reserve estimate has not yet been certified by third parties and Pemex is not including the well in its current reserve estimates.
Ayatsil, found last year, is expected to help extend the life of Ku Maloob Zaap, which overtook the Cantarell field as Mexico's most productive oilfield this spring.
Pemex has been struggling to replace output lost at Cantarell due to natural declines amid a dearth of major new discoveries.
Ku Maloob Zaap is expected to reach peak production this year at around 820,000 barrels per day before starting to slowly decline in 2010.
The Ayatsil field is expected to slow the decline of Ku Maloob Zaap, giving Pemex a bit more breathing room to find more oil in the deeper waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Mexican oil production is running below the company's 2.7 million barrels per day goal but Reyes Heroles said new wells being started up at its onshore Chicontepec development should help reverse the trend of declining output by the summer.
"There will be quite a good jump in output around July of this year," Reyes Heroles said.
The company is also working to connect two recent onshore light oil discoveries in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco to nearby production infrastructure. The Bricol and Bajlum finds should begin adding to production "in a few months," Reyes Heroles said.
The Bricol-1 well yielded 5500 bpd of light oil when completed in February. The Bajlum-1 well produced 6300 bpd of extra-light oil when completed in March, according to a Pemex statement.