Italian oil and gas company Eni has agreed to sell a 35% participating interest in Area 1, offshore Mexico, to Qatar's state-run energy company Qatar Petroleum. The transaction is subject to the approval of the Mexican authorities. If the deal comes true, Eni will remain the operator with a 65% interest, while Qatar Petroleum will own 35% in the project.
Area 1 is located in the shallow waters of the Campeche Bay and was awarded to Eni with a 100% participating interest following a competitive bid round in September 2015. The production sharing contract (PSC) was signed in December 2015. According to Eni, the field may hold 2.1 Gboe of hydrocarbons (mostly oil) in the Amoca, Miztón and Tecoalli fields. Eni made the final investment decision (FID) in December 2018 and will invest US$2bn in the project.
The project's development will be taking place in stages, with an early production phase with startup planned in mid-2019. The asset's crude oil production plateau will reach 102,000 boe/d by 2021, including 90,000 bbl/d of oil and 65 mcf/d (1.8 mcm/d) of associated gas production.