The Zama Oil Field is an

oil field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

located 60 km off the coast of

Tabasco Tabasco, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Tabasco, 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa. It i ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, in the Block 7 of the Sureste Basin. It was discovered in July 2017 by Talos Energy’s Zama-1 well. It’s estimated to hold up to two billion barrels of oil. Zama is named after the

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

word for "dawn".

History

Zama oil field was discovered by the Zama-1 well in July 2017 in the Block 7 of the Sureste Basin. It was the first exploration well to be drilled by the private sector in Mexico since the

Mexican oil expropriation The Mexican oil expropriation () was the Nationalization of oil supplies, nationalization of all petroleum reserves, facilities, and Big Oil, foreign oil companies in Mexico on March 18, 1938. In accordance with Article 27 of the Constitution of ...

. Talos Energy was the operator of the project in a joint-venture with Sierra Oil & Gas and

Premier Oil Premier Oil plc was an independent UK oil company with gas and oil interests in the United Kingdom, Asia, Africa and Mexico. It was devoted entirely to the 'upstream' sector of the industry — the exploitation of oil and gas — as opposed to th ...

. In September 2018, Mexico’s National Hydrocarbons Commission approved a $325m budget for appraisal drilling at Zama. However, the presidency of

López Obrador López or Lopez is a surname of Spanish origin. It was originally a patronymic, meaning "Son of Lope", ''Lope'' itself being a Spanish given name deriving from Latin ''lupus'', meaning "wolf". Its Portuguese and Galician equivalent is '' Lopes' ...

changed the approach of the Mexican government with private oil companies. Sierra Oil & Gas sold its 40% stake in Zama to Wintershall DEA, meanwhile, Premier Oil announced that its 25% stake was for sale. Talos Energy and PEMEX are in talks about a merged project in the oil field.

Controversies

Mexican state-owned oil company

PEMEX Pemex (a portmanteau of Petróleos Mexicanos, which translates to ''Mexican Petroleum'' in English; ) is the Mexico, Mexican State ownership, state-owned Petroleum industry, petroleum corporation managed and operated by the government of Mexico, ...

claims rights over the Zama discovery, as the company has drilling rights in an adjacent oil field. The Mexican company argues that the Zama deposit extends into its territory, but the firm must prove it by drilling. A third-party reservoir engineering firm concluded Talos held 49.6% of the discovery, while the remaining 50.4% was found to be in Pemex-operated areas. However, Talos CEO Tim Duncan considered that the analysis underestimated relevant data. Talos claims 59.6% of Zama.

References

{{coord, 18.927, -92.869, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:MX, display=title Oil fields in Mexico Petroleum industry in the Gulf of Mexico Oil field disputes