The Mexican hydrocarbon regulator, Comisión Nacional de Hidrocarburos (CNH), has approved a US$4.5bn development plan submitted by the state-owned energy company Pemex for the development of the Zama oil and gas field, located in the Sureste basin off the coast of Mexico’s Tabasco state.
Most of the announced investment is allocated for 2024 and 2025, notably for the construction of wells and of the facilities that will handle oil and gas production. The Pemex-led consortium is now expected to start output from the field, which has estimated recoverable resources of 600 to 800 mboe, in December 2025. The Zama shallow-water field is due to reach peak production between 2029 and 2030 at 180 kb/d of oil and 70 mcf/d (725 mcm/year) of natural gas.
Zama, discovered in 2017, will be exploited via a pair of fixed production platforms (Zama-A and Zama-B) and of 46 development wells including 29 oil producers. Pemex operates Zama with a 50.4% stake alongside Germany’s Wintershall Dea (19.8%), Talos (17.4%) and the London-listed Harbour Energy (12.4%).