BHP Billiton, Pemex in deepwater oil & gas talks

BHP Billiton and Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex) today signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation (MOU) to exchange technical knowledge, information, experiences and practices in activities related to the oil and gas industry.

On signing the MOU, BHP Billiton Petroleum and Potash President, Tim Cutt said: “We see considerable opportunity in Mexico following the recent economic reforms, and we are excited about the deepwater and the extension of the Paleogene play into the Perdido play.

“We are very pleased to have the opportunity to work with Pemex due to its exceptional capability and experience. We are confident that we are one of the lowest cost and best drillers in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. We have proven we can build projects better and faster than most operators, and our offshore facilities have some of the highest operational uptimes and safety records anywhere in the world. We look forward to sharing our technical knowledge and experience with our Mexican partners.

“Shenzi is an excellent example of what we can do and the deep capacity we possess within our offshore organisation. Shenzi continues to be one of the great success stories in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico – whether it’s time from discovery to first production, drilling costs, safety, uptime of approximately 95 per cent or sustaining production levels.”

BHP Billiton can rapidly provide critical offshore capacity. The company’s drillship, Deepwater Invictus, arrived in the Gulf of Mexico in May 2014, and, according to BHP, features world-class drilling capabilities which can be rapidly deployed together with an experienced drilling team.

BHP Billiton also has design and development expertise from building the Shenzi and Neptune platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pyrenees and Stybarrow FPSOs in Australia.

Cutt said: “What we can offer is absolute focus as Mexico seeks partners to help develop its enormous petroleum resources. Right now, our global offshore organisation is capable of moving with considerable speed, safety, agility, and flexibility.”