Pemex is set to invite farm-out offers for seven clusters of onshore fields in a bid process that is expected to kick off in April, writes Kathrine Schmidt.

Pemex chief executive Carlos Trevino Medina said during the CeraWeek conference in Houston that the process, which will be run by Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission, is the latest example of the company taking advantage of the ability to partner with others granted by Mexico’s energy reform.

“The data room is already open,” he said.

The company may also opt to re-offer its Ayin-Batsil area in shallow waters, which the company had promised to rework after an initial offer last year did not see commercial interest.

“Those are the two most important farmouts we are going to do this year,” he told reporters.

Following energy reforms in Mexico passed in 2014, Pemex has signed a series of farmouts, including for the deep-water Trion area with BHP Billiton, as well as for the Cardenas-Mora and Ogarrio fields onshore.

Under Mexican law, companies must compete for the rights to partner with Pemex in a competitive bid process, instead of engaging in a transaction via direct negotiations.

If the bid timeline for the seven clusters starts in April as planned, the process would see offers presented in late September or early October.

Trevino, however, acknowledged that there was limited time before the end of the six-year term of President Enrique Pena Nieto, with elections held in July and a new head of state taking office in December.

Asked whether more farmouts would be considered, Trevino hinted that the schedule would make it unlikely for the company to bring any other farmouts than the onshore clusters and Ayin-Batsil in the remainder of the administration, though other areas like heavy oil could be a target of future processes. Pemex is also taking steps, he said, to re-work and simplify the procedure, two to three weeks ago bringing a proposal to its board to reduce the time necessary to bring areas for farmouts after hearing company feedback on the process.

Regulators may look to streamlining the process at their end as well.

Weekly

Pemex to offer farmouts for seven onshore field clusters