Eni in first foreign offshore oil asset installation in Mexico

Italian oil and gas giant Eni has installed its Miztón platform offshore Mexico, making it the first foreign offshore oil asset installation in Mexico.

To remind, Mexico’s National Hydrocarbon Commission (Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos, CNH) approved Eni’s development plan for the discoveries of Amoca, Miztón and Tecoalli off Mexico back in August 2018. The discoveries are located in Area 1, in the shallow waters of the Campeche Bay, where Eni is the sole owner and operator with a 100% interest.

It is worth mentioning that Qatar Petroleum last December farmed into Eni’s Amoca, Mizton, and Tecoalli offshore oil fields, which lie in Area 1 in Mexico’s Campeche Bay. The agreement is subject to the authorization by the Mexican authorities and Eni will continue to be the operator.

In October 2018, Japan’s MODEC has received a letter of intent for supply, charter, and operations of an FPSO vessel from Eni to be deployed in the Offshore Area 1.

In early March 2019, Sapura Energy’s Sapura 3500 DP3 heavy lift vessel completed the installation of Eni’s Miztón platform under the Area 1 Production Sharing Contract (PSC).

Startup of the Miztón well head platform is planned for first half 2019 and production will be sent onshore through a 10” multiphase line and then treated at an existing Pemex facility. Early production plateau is expected at 8,000 barrels of oil per day (bopd).”

Claudio Descalzi, Eni’s CEO, commented that he is “extremely satisfied for this result, achieved thanks to a close and proactive cooperation between Eni and the Mexican authorities, and also proud that Eni will contribute to the innovation and progress of the country in a sustainable and positive manner for the society. Area 1 development will be a fast-track project in line with Eni’s strategy aimed at maximizing the long-term value for all stakeholders and shareholders”.

Eni’s ability to fast-track the project was facilitated by the availability of a suitable topside in nearby Texas.

“In 2014, Houston based Upstream Engineering, LLC and State Service, Inc. in Ingleside-TX completed the design, engineering & fabrication of the OKORO jacket and topsides; a shallow water, normally unmanned wellhead platform for an overseas client that failed to take delivery of the structure,” explained Joost Perquin, founder of Paradyne Services.

Paradyne Services specializes in project development, brokerage and consulting in the offshore energy sector, linking the North Sea, Gulf of Mexico and other energy hot spots around the world. The company acts as a facilitator for the re-use of offshore platforms.

Perquin adds that “Paradyne’s unique capabilities in facilitating the re-use of offshore platforms allowed us to connect Upstream and State Service to Eni in Mexico to support their fast-track development for Miztón in a cost-effective manner”.

“As the recovery in E&P spending continues into 2019 and oil companies remain cost conscious, we see good opportunities to grow our platform re-use business, as it allows them to reduce project cycle times and reduce cost. At Paradyne Services we have developed a robust system to identify high quality assets that are either stranded or ready to be decommissioned and suitable for installation elsewhere,” concluded Perquin.

Mexico’s Energy Reform

In August of 2014 the Mexican Government enacted a comprehensive Energy Reform, after 75 years of the national oil company’s single rule and allowing International Oil Companies to acquire operating licenses during subsequent tender rounds. More than 100 contracts were awarded to foreign and Mexico-based companies in bid rounds held between 2015 and 2018.

The Amoca, Miztón, and Tecoalli fields are shallow-water fields that form part of a single development block also known as Area 1 in the Southwest Marine region off the coast of Mexico’s Tabasco state. In 2015 Area 1 was awarded to Eni in tender Round One.

Full Area 1 field production will start in late 2020 and is expected to reach 90,000 bopd from 2021.