WoodMac podcast: Zama field discovery ‘exciting for Mexico’

Wood Mackenzie’s “Energy Alert” podcast took a closer look at this week’s big news regarding Talos’ Zama discovery and Eni’s successful appraisal offshore Mexico as well as the acquisition of Carcara interest by Statoil in Brazil.

Offshore Energy Today reported on Wednesday that Talos Energy and its partners Sierra and Premier made what they claim to be a world-class, historic oil discovery of more than a billion barrels, offshore Mexico.

The Zama-1 well is the first offshore exploration well drilled by the private sector in Mexico’s history.

According to Premier’s statement on Wednesday, preliminary analysis indicates initial gross original oil in place estimates for the Zama-1 well are more than 1 billion barrels, which could extend into a neighboring block.

The entire Zama Field is estimated to hold more than 1.5 billion barrels of oil equivalent and is considered one of the largest shallow water fields discovered in the past 20 years.

On the same day, Eni announced a successful appraisal result and testing of the Amoca-3 well in the shallow waters of Mexico’s Campeche Bay.

With the results of the Amoca-3 well, Eni has boosted the resource estimate of the Amoca field to 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent in place, and the Area 1 total estimated resource base to 1,3 billion barrels of oil in place, of which 90% is oil, with further upside.

A very busy day news-wise for the oil industry in the Americas was topped off by Statoil signing an agreement with Queiroz Galvão Exploração e Produção (QGEP) for the acquisition of QGEP’s 10 percent interest in the BM-S-8 license in Brazil’s Santos basin.

The additional equity will increase Statoil’s operated interest in the license from to 76 percent. The total consideration for the transaction is $379 million.

Offshore Energy Today has shared the podcast above with permission from Wood Mackenzie, an energy intelligence group.