Mexican state oil company Pemex reported three unconventional discoveries to the country's oil regulator between June and August.
In the Puchut assignment, Pemex reported the unconventional finds of Maxochitl-1EXP, in upper Jurassic Oxfordian reservoirs, while Kaneni-1EXP and Pankiwi-1EXP were made in Upper Jurassic Tithonian intervals. Gas and oil were found and ranged from 36 to 48 degrees API.
Pemex has been exploring for unconventional resources on an experimental basis for some years.
In 2017, the company committed to an exploration work programme that targeted three blocks in the northern part of the country, including two areas in the Tampico-Misantla basin’s Puchut area.
That overall plan included a combined 18 exploration wells, potentially adding 11 more in an “incremental” scenario.
Any next steps on the block, however, remain uncertain given the government's unclear stance on hydraulic fracturing despite it having been used in Mexico for years on conventional applications.
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has consistently expressed opposition to the technique.
However, Pemex exploration plans for such assignments have been allowed to continue without progressing to the production phase.
