Shell has farmed into a deep-water block offshore Mexico, as the Anglo-Dutch supermajor continues to add to its portfolio in the Perdido region.

Shell confirmed it would take a 30% stake in Block 4, where it would partner with operator CNOOC Ltd and Petronas. CNOOC Ltd holds a 40% working interest with Petronas retaining a 30% stake. The move is still subject to regulatory approval.

“At Shell Mexico we are excited to enter into this joint venture and to participate in the upcoming exploration program. We are looking forward to working with CNOOC Mexico and Petronas Mexico,” Shell said in a statement.

CNOOC Ltd recently got back on track to drill the Ameyali-1EXP well in the Perdido fold-belt, the first probe by the company on a pair of blocks - Area 1 and 4 - that it won in the country’s initial deep-water Round 1.4 in 2016.

“I think that this move further cements Shell’s position as Mexico’s most active IOC with presence in 11 blocks. It has already drilled two wells this year and will be involved in another four wells in the next six months, all in the Perdido Basin,” Pablo Medina, vice president of Welligence Energy Analytics, told Upstream.

“CNOOC will start drilling Xakpun after they finish at Ameyali (currently drilling), so clearly Shell thought Block 4’s prospectivity was very attractive and decided to farm-in before drilling started.”

CNOOC Ltd had earlier contracted the ultra-deepwater drillship Valaris Renaissance for the work in water depths of 1737 metres from May to October, with two one-well options.

The Valaris unit is also supposed to be used for a second well in the same area — Xakpun-1EXP — which was to start drilling on 10 August and wrap up on 27 October, although it is unclear what the new timeline for that well will be.

The Ameyali-1EXP well is targeting the Wilcox formation in the Eocene and Paleocene intervals at a depth of between 5375 and 6100 metres, and will be drilled to a total depth of 6146 metres, with an estimated resource of 1.32 billion barrels of oil equivalent.

Exploration

Shell grabs 30% stake in another Perdido block